Distant Truths
by Inheritanceftw
Summary: A young slave who thinks he is destined for a life down the mines has his whole world inverted when a dragon rider, who were only myths to his people before then, saves him. Travelling to the riders he seeks sanctuary with them to escape his past; although he can hide from it, the past will inevitably catch up with him… But will it bring pain, or realisation of what once was?
1. Prologue

Prologue – Into the Mines

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

_So tired… Can't even think clearly to myself… _Aris thought to himself as he slaved away with the pickaxe attempting to find a source of ore deep under the mountain. _If only they would give us an indication of where to dig, at least we would stand a chance of finding something then. _The young boy thought bitterly, now attempting to chip away a bit of softer rock in order to navigate a patch of dense granite. Even a simple child from a poor family knew how to mine rock properly; after all he had worked in the mines for several years now. Resting his hand on the butt of the pickaxe Aris decided to have a break for a second for he was greatly fatigued as he had been working from dawn until what, he assumed, was now late afternoon, slaving away deep in the mine.

One of the guards strolled past whistling a merry tune; he spotted Aris taking a break from mining and walked over with a fierce stride. "What do you think you're doing boy! Get back to mining." The man said with anger pushing Aris into the rock, his hands steadying him as he fell. In doing so the young boy gained deep scrapes in his palms causing blood to be smeared across them. "Don't just lie there! Get up!"

"Y-yes sir." The young boy said feebly, pushing himself to his feet before starting to swing his pick at the rock once more. A muttering of "good" could be heard from behind as the guard walked away and continued patrolling the area.

_I wish there were some way out of this; if they keep pushing me this hard I won't be able to work and my family will starve… _

Several more hours passed and Aris' fatigue was now at a peak as he struggled to stay on his feet. He eventually collapsed due to exhaustion, having not mined much since the guard had come past earlier in the afternoon. Then a large number of footsteps could be heard as if a large group were approaching, _Please don't let it be… _

It was Vordur, the mine boss. He stood at least six foot above the ground and had a brutish face with a fierce scar running from his temple to his chin. Strands of what used to be blonde hair were scattered across his head and squinting eyes peered out with both hate and curiosity at the hard world outside. Looking down in pure detest at the prone figure lying on the floor he kicked Aris in the ribs sending him sprawling across the dirt, "I 'ear you 'aven't been working. Is this true?"

The young boy remained still, too tired to answer.

"I said, is this true?" Vordur picked up Aris by his collar and dangled him in the middle of the group; he lifted him like a mother would lift a pup – with great ease. "I want you to answer my question you maggot. So I advise you do so before I rip your intestines out through yer chest!"

Aris managed to murmur, "I-I haven't been working sir, no."

"Just as I thought! It's double shifts for you then, and your family won't be gettin' any food this winter either." He said with malice in his voice that any sane man would detest hearing at the instant they heard him speak.

"No! Please, if not me please let them eat!" Aris begged of the man.

"Let me think about that one… No! Now get back to work." Vordur threw the young boy's small body back down to the ground and walked away laughing with all of the other mine guards.

Anger then surfaced in Aris. All the anger, fear and hate that had culminated from his treatment since being sent to the mines those long years ago and the treatment he had received not just from Vordur but everyone else there – even his fellow miners. The emotions burst out of him like an arrow from a bow and he shouted "No!"

The brutish man swirled around, "What do you mean no?"

"I said no!" Aris bellowed, charging head on at Vordur and swinging his pickaxe at the man's face; Vordur was strong but he was far from agile. The pick was impaled in his temple and crimson blood fountained out from his head as he collapsed to the floor dead.

"What did you do to him?" One of the nameless thugs shouted, "Get 'im lads!"

Then it became a chase for his life; Aris sprinted as fast as his legs could take him out towards the entrance of the mines, several guards in tow all shouting behind him whilst Aris sprinted away. As he neared the entrance some guards had managed to get ahead of him and block off the tunnel _Oh great… There's nothing for it now. _

The young boy sprinted as fast as he could, pickaxe raised which caused a glint of fear to come into the men's eyes, and swung down at the right hand guard – a scrawny man – with all his might. Again the man crumpled just as Vordur had done and Aris seized the opening and charged past, managing to escape the mine.

A snowstorm was blazing outside and nothing could be seen more than three feet in front of him, yet Aris still kept running, and running until he was running down the slope of the mountain on the side where the descent was shallowest, _Surely they can't have kept up with me through this storm? _He thought hopefully.

His hope was short lived as he heard shouts coming from close behind causing him to increase in speed once more. He could hear the calls of the guards coming behind him getting closer, and closer until the bellows were so loud they hurt his ears.

Then there was silence.

Suddenly there came the screams and the crashing sounds of, _avalanche, _Aris thought with great panic. _I'd better run fast. _The young boy gained speed rapidly as he charged down the side of the mountain attempting to stay ahead of the gargantuan force of the snow. An idea came to mind then, his only hope of survival; diving behind one of the large boulders he sheltered himself in a hollow where the large, embedded rock did not quite touch the ground. The place was small enough for the guards not to notice him as they too tried to escape and also the boulder was large enough to shelter him from the sheer force of the avalanche.

As the snow rushed past a sigh of relief came from Aris' mouth, the boulder had protected him from the worst. But in the case of the guards, well, all Aris could hear were screams of terror from lower down the mountain followed by a very faint crunching noise as the bones of the guards were broken into many pieces by the great weight of the snow and their lives were no more. Of Vordur's fate Aris knew not but the young boy was glad that he was simply alive and had survived an avalanche; he had heard many tales of the infamous avalanches in the mountains when he was younger but there were never many who lived to tell the tale. _If I ever return home my family aren't going to believe me…_ The brown haired boy thought to himself.

The adrenaline from escaping the guards faded away and the cold set in to his body as he lay in the snow, hidden from the world with nobody to help him if he were to freeze. _I need to get back home as soon as possible else I won't live to tell the tale of this avalanche, just like the others… _He thought to himself wryly whilst attempting to stand up. His legs supported him for a few seconds before he collapsed back onto the ground again, _I have to do this!_ Driving himself forward he forced his body up and started making his way through the snow and back round towards the village.

All that Aris could see was a white haze coating him and the surrounding area preventing anything from the valley below being seen. Faint lights could be discerned in the distance but whether that was the village or simply something else Aris could not tell for now his mind was fuzzy from being in the cold for so long, _It must have been at least three hours… I should be at the village by now. _Suddenly, without warning, his legs gave from underneath him again after holding out for several hours and he collapsed to the snow coated ground with exhaustion simply lying there in the hope that something would come and save him.

Then a bright light came from above; it was if an azure star had come from the heaven's to carry him away. The blue light came closer and closer until just as it reached its peak Aris fainted, his body too starved of energy to continue retaining its conscious state.

Author's note: Thank you for reading this chapter, I know it is short but later chapters will be longer as this is merely a prologue. I am hoping to write some more at a later date and any feedback either through pm or review would be greatly appreciated.


	2. Capture

Chapter one – Capture

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

_Memories roiled through Aris' mind distorting his senses as he lay motionless in the snow, unconscious as the unnamed light approached. One in particular came to the surface of his thoughts instantly, something from several years ago; one event that changed his life forever…_

"Aris, wake up. It's time to get up Aris!"

"Hmm. Wha'?" Propping himself up the young boy looked around to see who was waking him; it was his mother.

"It's breakfast now Aris so you need to get up."

"Oh…" He replied drearily before attempting to rise from his bed.

"It's on the table so come through when you're ready." His mother finished before going through the door into the main living area.

Rising Aris sat on the edge of the bed at stared at his feet deep in thought for a few seconds before shaking his head and, standing, got dressed in his normal fare of a torn dark coloured tunic and ragged trousers.

For a fourteen year old boy Aris was rather tall, standing at five foot eleven. Dark black hair tumbled down to his shoulders, ragged from lack of trimming, and dark blue eyes stared with slight curiosity and fear at the world outside. Also he was strangely well-built for a mere slave-boy for he had muscled arms, mostly from the hard labour that he and his family were forced to do every day. However, his father was of a similar build so the young dark haired boy liked to think that he had inherited those characteristics from him not wanting to remind himself of the work that the general forced them to do.

Entering the main room of their floor of the building Aris walked over to the table and sat down, slouching due to his fatigue. In front of him was a slice of bread and some water for that is all that the family were given for their breakfast; poor as they and the rest of the people in the local area were no-one received anything warm for breakfast. The finest food was reserved for the ruler's court.

Aris' father, a tall man who would have been cheery and jolly if it weren't for the current circumstances, greeted his son warmly but with slight apprehension, "Good morning son."

"Mornin' dad." He said through bites of bread.

"We've been told to report to the main square of town today so we'd best get going soon."

"Mm-k. Jus' let me finish this bread seeing as it's all we get…"

"Yes, yes I know son. But be quick, don't want the guards picking us up for being late; you remember what happened last time?"

The young boy shuddered, "I do." Thinking back to the event before dismissing it from his current thoughts; Aris wolfed down the rest of the half-loaf and drank his water before getting up hurriedly and heading over to the open door where his father was waiting for him.

"Let us be off now Aris,"

"Okay dad," Aris replied sullenly, pondering why they would be sent to the middle of town.

"Goodbye dear!" The elder man called to his wife.

"Bye hun'" came the reply as the two men left out of the meagre warmth of the many tiered wooden building and into the cold and damp of the town. The weather outside was bleak, as always; the winter's snow had melted and left a sludge coating the ground as the mud had somehow melded with the snow to create something that was near impossible to walk on without having your legs coated in the horrible substance. The people were used to this however, due to the fact that the treatment they received from their ruler was far worse. His General, who went by the name of Adulphus, was perhaps even more of a terror than the ruler himself; the man often took pleasure out of rand tormenting random subjects, much to the dislike of the people but in their current situation nothing could be done.

The father and his son set off in the direction of the centre of town, only knowing which way through experience and that there were several men and elder children already heading that way.

_Then the memory faded as the duo began to walk closer to the centre; it came back, stronger than before, as General Adulphus was addressing the people…_

"Greetings measly subjects; I have gathered you here today to announce a new proposal of my own and your ruler's creation!"

All were silent in fear of what the man was about to say, considering the past few times this man had announced food shortages and such other grand issues yet still nothing was done about it. Therefore, Aris dreaded what was to come next however, in his dream-like state; he could do nothing about it which made the experience even more unnerving.

"I give you an opportunity, to work for your leader and show your devotion even more! Yes! Both myself and him are too kind I know; you will work up in the hills and mountains near here," The man pointed his hand to show the group where he meant, "We have opened a mine! You can work if you wish for your family to still eat; if you do not work then, well, the consequences will be… severe. Guards, begin the selection." With the speech made the general departed from the podium and walked away towards the edge of town, laughing maniacally as he walked so that all could hear his madness – although the man did not quite realise this.

Then the choosing began.

Armour-clad guards strolled through the crowd using their swords to separate friends from friends and sons from fathers. Before the men reached them Aris' father turned to him and, putting his hands on his shoulders, said, "Son. If I get sent to the mines do not come after me, you need to stay and look after your mother okay?"

"But why? They won't send you dad; they know that you're good as a farmer."

"They will do what they want Aris, you need to know this now – just because I am a farmer doesn't mean I won't leave. The world is a harsh place and you should never place trust in a single person, even if it is the one you love. Know that now so if I never see you again you shall have my advice."

"You're not going to-"

"Look what we have here Kalt, a father and son. How… quaint." The guards had now arrived at the pair who stood at the back end of the crowd, which had now dispersed into several groups. "Which one shall we send then? The father looks stronger."

"Ye' bu' the other one is younger, 'e'll do more work if you get me eh?" The other man replied.

"Yes I do. The son it is then!"

"Don't you touch my son! You may as well take me, I have worked on the farms for many a year and have become quite accustomed to hard labour; take me instead."

"This one seems persistent," One whispered to the other. "Very well! I shall take you then."

Aris was horrified at the thought of never being able to see his father again. That very fear drove him to do what he did next, "No! Don't, please."

"Your old man has decided boy so shut it." Picking him up the guard threw Aris into the sludge covering his face in the foul substance; sitting up he spat out the muck and started to run back towards his father shouting,

"No! Please!"

As the men were only walking Aris caught up with them easily and he dived at his father's leg, attempting to slow them; his plan worked in part as the guards stopped taking away his father but it did not work in full.

"Seeing as you are being a nuisance, little boy, how about we send you both to the mines? Haha!"

This riled Aris' father who now became flushed with anger, "If you dare give that fate to my son I will rip you limb from limb you horrible cretins!"

"Ooh, he's calling us cretins now Kalt; isn't that rich?"

"Haha, ye'; considering he's the one who is workin' on the farms."

"If you want to fight us for him then very well your poor, sorry excuse for a man."

_When the guards drew their swords Aris could sense the hostility in the air and he knew that something would happen either to him or his father that very day that would change their lives. As his conscious state faded further and further into his mind, like the tide waning from the coast, Aris' memories enveloped him all the more; emotions and thoughts could now be sensed through the link that he had created with his past self…_

_I can't let them attack my dad! _Aris thought to himself in terror; quickly the young boy lunged at the right hand guard, the one with the slurred tone, bringing his fist round to meet his face. The punch landed with a sickening crunch and the man grasped his cheek with one hand, drawing his sword with the other. _This is not good… I can't win against an armed man; why did I do that? _He thought stupidly to himself.

"Aris, get away!" His father shouted whilst engaged with the other guard; however, calling to Aris had distracted the old man and a slicing sound of metal piercing flesh could be heard which caused the dark haired boy to turn round in panic.

The sword of the guard had penetrated the left hand side of the man's chest causing crimson blood to splutter out at intervals. Just as his father collapsed Aris ran over and caught him, the weight proving slightly too much as they both fell into the mud. Before the man faded out of consciousness he leaned over to Aris and whispered in his ear, "Aris; i-if I die h-here today I want you to do o-one thing – avenge… My… Death. Kill Adulphus and m-make sure he pays for what-t he has done… Done to our family and the people…" He collapsed to the ground, his body limp.

Kalt, the guard, and his associate walked over with malicious grins on their visages, "Seems we have a culprit of a crime here, how could you do such a thing to your own father? Insolent boy…"

Aris looked at them puzzled and with tears in his eyes which caused the guards to laugh with the same maliciousness that their smiles contained, "You stabbed your own father didn't you? It clearly wasn't us."

Then the boy's slow mind worked out what the men were on about, "You can't blame me for this! I can prove that you injured him!" Aris knew he had no hope then of doing anything from the way the guards were looking at his small weak body; his father was on the brink of death, the guards had surrounded him and could do anything they wanted to him.

"Not if we send you to the mines."

_Oh no…_ The thought of being sent to the mines; Aris had heard tell of other mines and their workers. Cave-ins often trapped and killed many; even a misplaced swing of a pickaxe caused the loss of limbs sometimes. As the thoughts of his father's inevitable death overwhelmed his body the dark haired boy began to sob even more, blocking out everything else. All that he could remember from then on was being dragged away by the guards towards the mines, his father's prone form lying in the dirt.

However, as the memory faded away he noticed a hooded figure watching him from an alleyway in between the rickety wooden houses. The person's face was hidden from view yet he could tell it was not human for their facial features were not of his own shape; thinking it was a hallucination Aris let his sobs overcome him once more and fell back into unconsciousness as the strange person leaned over his father in thought…

Author's note: Writing the first chapter of a story is always difficult as you have to make the right decision at this point as where the story will go; that is why I have taken my time with this chapter if you are wondering. I hope you have enjoyed reading and I thank you, the reader, for taking your time to read it also. As always rating and reviewing is greatly appreciated as it gives me some nice feedback on my own work whilst allowing me to make the story better for everyone to read.


	3. Light in the Dark

Chapter two – Light in the Dark

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

When Aris woke he was wrapped tightly in thick blankets to protect him from the severe cold of the mountains; a dim light from a campfire could be seen nearby, its warm glow giving out a gratifying heat which removed the chill from his bones and gave life to the surrounding area in the darkness. His mind was still blurred from the cold that his body had endured so he fell back to sleep to allow his body to recuperate from the harsh treatment that it had received.

The next time the dark haired boy awoke his head was sufficiently clear to think coherently, therefore he propped himself up on his bed roll and glanced around the fire; on the other side another set of blankets could be seen along with a pack full of supplies. Then a sudden thought came to Aris' mind, _How did I even get here? All I remember was collapsing in the snow and seeing all those lights. I wonder who brought me here… I hope it wasn't some other mine guards, but if that was the case then why would they give me bedding? This is too confusing… _

Attempting to get up the youth decided to explore the clearing out of slight boredom and in order to find some answers, as even though he was not the most educated individual he was curious and wanted answers to his current situation. However, when he tried to stand his legs gave way underneath him; collapsing back down onto the bedroll Aris lay panting slightly. _Why won't my legs work? Eugh I suppose I'll have to wait it out here to see just who it was that saved me._ And that is what he did.

After an hour the dark haired boy's attention started to wane and he even contemplated going back to sleep until something disturbed the silence of the night. Turning his attention to something a slight way from where he sat the young boy twisted his head so he could hear the strange thing that approached.

_Thud._

Then all was silent again; until the sound returned, closer this time.

_Thud._

The whole ground shook at the force of an unseen impact; Aris jumped up in both expectation and fear, he had forgotten about his legs however and he promptly fell back into the bedding. A light crunch could be heard as if something had hit the snow then footsteps that were getting closer.

And closer.

At the edge of the firelight, out in the barren dark, a hooded figure could be seen carrying a bloodied sword in one hand and an elegant shield in the other – nothing like Aris had ever witnessed before, it was if the very gods themselves had crafted this person's weaponry. Aris attempted to call to the figure to get their attention but he found his throat parched and all that came out from between his lips was a vulgar cough; he was about to try to speak again but the strange figure began walking towards him. From their stride he could tell that it was a male however, their stature said otherwise. The way they walked rang too much of grandeur for them to be a simple human yet, from what Aris could see, they had the features of a mortal person.

That was until the person reached the fire. Pulling down their hood the dark haired boy saw that his saviour had pointed ears and rather angled features, cat-like almost. Fierce brows shadowed the serious eyes which seemed to glare into Aris and go right through into his very soul. Hair the colour of starlight tumbled down to his shoulders and seemed to add a certain power to his person. Someone such as this had not been seen before by the young boy, let alone anyone from the town; _I don't even know what race this person is… _Aris thought bitterly to himself, _Hell, I don't even know if they _are _human or not. _

As the youth tried to speak again the strange man silenced him with a wave of his hand and instead spoke himself. His voice was accented and brought memories of forests and streams to Aris' mind, memories that were not his own. However, he could not understand this foreign person due to the fact that the language they spoke was not one that he could comprehend. At seeing Aris' questioning gaze the man shook his head and looked up in thought before he began speaking once more.

"I am most sorry, I thought you may speak my own language but I was mistaken."

"W-who are you and why did you save me?" Aris enquired in a panicked tone.

"I rescued you as you had fainted in the snow, if I had not saved you then you would have perished. Allowing an innocent to die would make me a poor rider indeed."

_A dragon rider! Wait, he only said rider so he may mean something else… I should ask him but I'd best be careful, I don't want to anger this man. If the myths are true then they have powers which can match even the gods themselves._

"A rider? You mean dragon rider?" Aris asked stupidly.

"I suppose since you cannot escape, even if you tried you would not get far in your current state, there is no harm in telling you. Yes, I am a dragon rider and an elf. I am slightly surprised that someone this far east knows of us…"

"I only really know because of old stories to tell you the truth. And what is an elf?"

"You don't know what an elf is?" Aris shook his head, "It is my species of people. I am most surprised you have not heard of us; we are like humans, as you can see, but we are more than humans. Our race is more powerful in magic and stronger physically than your mere human."

The young boy looked at the man in shock, "Yo-you mean you can use magic?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"I thought it was only a story, I never knew it was actually _real._"

"Mm-hm, it is most real but do not fret; most only use it for good. Now that I've told you who I am why don't you tell me who you are?"

At first Aris was rather dubious about answering; however, considering that this person had told him that he was a rider, and also the fact that he couldn't really escape, the dark haired boy had trust in this man, but then he remembered his father's words, _The world is a harsh place and you should never place trust in a single person, even if it is the one you love_.

_It can't hurt to just tell this man my name… _The young boy thought naively, "I am Aris." He stated.

"Well met Aris." The rider said proffering his hand in greeting, Aris barely having the energy to shake it. Taking a seat on an old hollow log that was positioned near the fire and the bedroll the person leaned forward and clasped his hands together in thought. "I am also curious as how I managed to find you in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain, do you have an explanation for it or not?"

"It is a rather long story…"

"We're not going anywhere." The strange man stated.

"Okay but first I need to know your name; and also if you _are _a rider where is your dragon? Also why are _you _here, out in the middle of nowhere on the side of a mountain?"

"To answer the former she is over resting in the snow if you must know; as for my name I am called Finwë. My dragon I shall introduce later as, like I said, she is resting and does not wish to be disturbed. As for the latter that is a tale for a later date. Now please, begin the story."

And so Aris reluctantly told Finwë of how he had been sent to the mines in the first place, a strange look coming across the man's face for a brief second at the mention of Aris' father before it disappeared and the dark haired boy continued with the story; and then of his work in the mines, the escape and finally how he had come to be where Finwë had found, and saved, him.

Once he had finished Aris lay back and stared into the night sky, admiring the stars that could be seen glimmering above them. The strange looking man leaned back also contemplating what Aris had said; only after a minute or so did either of them talk. "An intriguing story if anything; one filled with danger most certainly. I can see why your legs were in the state they were when I found you."

"What do you mean, 'in the state they were'?"

Out of curiosity Aris removed his legs from under the blankets and began to pull down his trousers, "I wouldn't do that if I we-"Finwë was cut off as Aris finished taking off the rough trousers he had worn whilst in the mines. Bandages were wrapped around his right knee and ankle as if some grave injury had been acquired.

"What is this? How did I hurt my legs?"

The elf scratched his head in embarrassment, "When I was trying to examine your body for injuries I may have twisted your leg slightly when turning you onto your back… Don't get me wrong it was an accident but you were in a bad state anyway – you didn't have enough energy for your body to move properly, even now I can see that your body is exhausted."

"But why did you injure me?"

Finwë sighed, "Like I said, it was an accident. Anyway you had best rest for now; even from talking to you Aris you seem to have become more tired; sleep would be best now so good night."

"Good night." The dark haired boy called back feebly not having the energy to retort before lying back on his bed and quickly falling into a deep slumber; questions flying through his mind but ones that would have to be saved till the next day…

Aris woke as the sun was rising above the horizon emitting an orange glow across the land making even the snow seem alight and welcoming. Finwë was already awake and preparing breakfast over a small campfire, "Good morning Aris, did you sleep well?"

"Yes." The dark haired boy said getting up wearily; suddenly something came to his mind that, in his exhausted state last night, he had overlooked, "How did you light a fire in the snow? I thought it was near impossible to do so."

"Not if you know what to do."

"And what would that be then?" Aris asked bitterly.

"You're not ready for the information." Finwë answered sternly silencing Aris. Feeling slightly guilty for chastising the boy the elf tried to restart the conversation, "We can't stay here for much longer, do you want to come with me or go back home?"

The question did not seem to alleviate the atmosphere; however, it did gain an answer from Aris who spoke in a resigned tone. "If I were to return I couldn't bear to tell them what had happened along with the fact that I would probably be killed for leading those guards to their death. The only path that is available to me seems to be the first one you offered – to go with you; to the riders I assume?"

"That is so."

"Very well."

"May I ask what you couldn't tell your family? Surely it cannot be something so grave that you would not want to return to them?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Aris said before turning away and lying to one side in his blankets; tears forming at the corners of his eyes at the thought of admitting to his father's death. Thinking about his fate brought a fresh wave of tears and anger at the pain the General – Adulphus – and the ruler had caused…

Feeling a hand on his shoulder Aris looked around to see Finwë leaning over him, "Do not worry little one, you need not tell me. I was merely curious as to why you were upset."

The dark haired boy attempted to glare at the elf but could not muster the will to do so; Finwë seemed to be genuinely concerned for him and so Aris' gaze lightened slightly. "Sorry… I guess I got carried away slightly."

"There is no problem with that." Again the pair sank into silence for a while.

A loud voice then came into Aris' mind causing him to jump up in shock sending the blankets flying, _Why don't you two sort this out? We need to be off soon Finw__ë__._

"What is that? Get out of my head!"

Finwë looked at the boy strangely, "Aris what are you doing?" Seeing him shaking his head violently, "Stop that, you're going to hurt yourself; it's only my dragon."

"Your dragon can talk?"

The elf sighed, "Yes, she can. Dragon's aren't stupid you know."

"I thought they-"

Again the mental voice interrupted him, _Yes I can talk. _It said exasperatedly before adopting a more polite tone,_ Greetings Aris I am Promethia, Finw__ë__'s dragon. Can I say that I have not met a human quite like you before, I feel sorry for your current situation as it is most difficult. May I give you some advice?_

Puzzled as to how to reply to the strange creature Aris asked Finwë, "How do I answer her?"

"I can get her to come over so you can talk to her if you want?"

"That would be best." Aris replied, now curious as to what this dragon looked like. Sitting up he stared across to the other side of the fire where he thought there was only snow; however, his assumptions were proved wrong slowly a light blue lump rose from the bleak white expanse and began to come nearer to the fire-side. As it got closer Aris realised that it was actually in fact a dragon. Never having seen such a majestic beast before Aris was in awe of the being that stood before him; standing tall, exactly how tall he knew not, above the ground the white scaled dragon looked down at Aris curiously. As she did so Aris threw up his arms in defence; a strange sound emanated from the dragon's mouth, it sounded almost like a laugh of sorts. _I was only going to inspect you Aris, there is no need to worry. _

Now that Promethia was close Aris could talk to her directly without using mind-speak, "Sorry, I'm just not used to having a dragon come and sniff me." The dark haired boy said chuckling slightly out of nervousness before continuing "Oh I forgot about what you said before. To answer that question yes, what is your advice?"

_My advice is this - not to dwell on your past. Nor to escape it; that is not to say you shouldn't come with me and Finw__ë__, which I believe is your only option to put it bluntly, but it is your decision what secrets to keep – do not relive them if you wish not to. Now onto more important matters; are you coming with us or not? We have enough supplies for three._

"Seeing as, like you said, it is my only option I think I'll have to."

Finwë smiled, "Excellent. Let us depart then! If you just hop up onto Promethia we can set off." The elf said whilst banking the fire and packing away the bedrolls with great haste, "You can mount Promethia now."

Aris looked up with dread at the huge beast, her sides seemed impossible to scale and once he was a top her neck spikes looked to be rather deadly. "Erm… How do I get up? Especially since my legs won't work properly."

Promethia laughed but Finwë answered with concern tinging his voice, "I'll help you onto her back Aris, just give me a minute." He quickly finished stuffing all of the supplies into his pack before slinging it onto what looked to be a giant saddle which was strapped around Promethia before going over to Aris and lifting up the boy with uncommon ease. Once the dark haired boy was ready and strapped into the saddle Finwë jumped up the side of the dragon nimbly, much to Aris' amazement, and planted himself behind the boy. "Hold on," The elf said leaning into Aris' ear just before Promethia spread her wings and propelled herself into the air with her mighty thighs.

After about a minute of climbing into the sky the white scaled dragon levelled off and began flying smoothly through the air; smiling Aris said, "This isn't too-" He was cut off as his stomach turned and he threw up over the side of Promethia. "Eugh… I spoke too soon."

"That you did, if you lean forward on the saddle you can rest Aris, we have a long flight back to my home left. Do not worry, Promethia will not go astray or cause you to fall; she is a seasoned flier and has had much experience."

"O-okay." The young boy said dubiously before leaning forward and propping his sore head on the front of the saddle and falling into a gentle sleep, his body still needing to recuperate from the cold and the strain of working deep in the mines.

Author's note: Back for another chapter, I do apologise if it is a bit boring but you have your good chapters and you have your good ones; this was needed to fully kick-start the story and get the cogs into motion you could say. Thank you for reading, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out soon.


	4. Flight

Chapter three – Flight

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

The snow coated mountains loomed before them, a near endless white expanse that stretched towards the horizon. In the distance the giant formations of rock seemed to dwindle slightly and Aris thought he even saw what looked to be a region which was not coated in snow however, he could not be certain as the sun was now reaching the edge of the world and was about to pass into the void; bringing dark upon the world.

Aris, Finwë and Promethia had only been travelling for a day but already the young boy had seen more amazing sights than in the entirety of his memory. They passed waterfalls, or so he later learned that they were named thusly from Finwë; great natural structures that water tumbled down in vast quantities and, because they were in the high mountains, sent huge chunks of ice spiralling down to their demise.

When it was time to stop for the night Promethia began spiralling down in her descent towards the ground causing Aris' head to spin again; this time he managed to control his stomach and instead concentrated on not impaling his head on one of the dragon's massive neck spikes, which the dark haired boy almost did when the white dragon landed at the place where both her and Finwë had chosen to stop. The elf dismounted first before getting Promethia to lie flat so that Aris could get down from the large dragon's back.

Once Aris had successfully made his way down Finwë helped him over to a dry patch of ground, as the young boy's legs were still badly injured, and then started unpacking a plethora of items from the saddlebags of his dragon; "How come you have so many supplies with you? It's as if you were waiting for me." Aris said smiling wryly.

"No, that is not the case." The light haired elf answered before returning his attention to emptying the saddlebags of useful items that would be needed; such as bed rolls, one of which he threw to Aris who stood there looking at the snow coated ground. When Finwë saw Aris standing there he gave the youth a critical look, "Are you going to lay out the bedding?"

"The ground is covered in snow,"

"Give me a second." The elf walked over and muttered something under his breath whilst placing a hand on the ground; once he had finished speaking he removed his palm and the ground beneath it was dry and suitable for bedding. Aris looked at him in amazement.

"What did you do?"

"I simply removed the snow from the ground, now go ahead and lay your bed roll out."

Aris glanced back in suspicion at the elf before doing as the elder person had said and putting his bed roll down on the floor before collapsing into it, exhausted even though all he had been doing all day was sitting on the back of a dragon. _I don't know this man's powers fully yet but what he seems to be using magic often and with ease; I should be careful. _The dark haired boy thought to himself, _I shouldn't put too much trust in him either; he may have good intentions but you can never be too sure. _Trying to calm his mind Aris asked.

"Can all riders use magic?" He asked innocently.

"I'm afraid I can't disclose that information." When Aris gave him a questioning look the elf asked, "What?"

"What do you mean by disclose?"

He sighed slightly before his mood lightened in acceptance of Aris' curiosity, "I suppose you are only a slave and will not have had any formal tuition; am I right?"

"Not really..." Aris said innocently enough but his tone bespoke of some hidden secret, a truth from a long time ago which Finwë did not detect.

"Very well; what I meant is that I can't tell you the answer to what you asked, it is not my position to give out information such as that. Any questions shall have to wait till we get to the riders."

A look of disappointment came from Aris, "Okay then." He said acceptingly before lying down and allowing his legs to recuperate as even though they had recovered enough for him to walk he still struggled to stand and had only just managed to make it over to the bedding.

Finwë prepared the dinner in silence, it was a stew comprising of only vegetables which Aris thought rather strange, and sat watching out over the mountains whilst the meal cooked; looking like a sentinel of the hills as he stared. The dark haired human joined the elf in his surveying and inspected the nearby hills for threats, as he had become accustomed to in the harsh winters with wolves and other such things attacking from the mountains. There were no signs of life however, only snow covered the surrounding area blanketing the whole world in white.

The group also ate in silence giving a chilling atmosphere to the camp; something that could not even be warmed by the light of the fire at its centre. Once both men had eaten and their appetites sated did either of them talk as Aris' mind had been buzzing with questions since their flight away from his home had begun.

"How did you become a rider?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"What about where you were born?"

"Nor that." Finwë said cutting off Aris' stream of questions almost instantly; as if the elf were trying to hide something from the boy.

"I can't trust you if I don't know your motives." Aris stated.

"Ah, but you shouldn't trust anybody. Or so that is your train of thought as I am led to believe, am I correct?"

The dark haired boy looked at him with suspicion, "How do you know that?"

"Coincidence." Finwë stated, "Do not worry. I am not your enemy; I merely believe that you have potential, and lots of it. That is partially why I am taking you to the riders."

"Okay…" Aris' suspicion was not alleviated by the elf's words so the youth ended the conversation by turning onto his side and pretending to be asleep, so as to trick Finwë into not talking. It seemed to work as the light haired elf did not speak any more but instead, or from what Aris heard, headed off to bed and settled down for the night along with Promethia.

The next few days passed slowly as most of the time was spent in the saddle passing over similar scenery. However, for Aris it was a new learning experience as he had only seen the inside of the mines for several years and the snowy hills for several more before that; past the mountains lay, as the youth had seen the day prior to arriving at it, a vast plain which stretched far to the west. More mountains could be seen to the north, taller than the ones that he had grown up in, but to the south spanned a hostile desert where none of the many herds that roamed the plains dared go; for there they would most certainly meet death.

As had been the case for the first day of travelling Finwë taught Aris of many things, about the geography of the world along with other items of more general knowledge; the help and assistance that was being given to him made Aris' thoughts of returning dwindle until, after around four days of travelling, he had completely dismissed the thought of going back to his previous life due to the fact that this new one was superior in all aspects. The elf had even begun to teach Aris how to read saying, "When you reach my home they will expect you to be able to have a basic understanding of the runes and such other things; if you don't know how to read them I'm afraid you won't get very far in life."

Aris had not protested at this but instead focused his concentration on learning; he had learnt that it was easier to go along with Finwë than question his decisions and often wondered if all elves were like that.

As they neared the other side of the plains, on which there spanned a great forest lined by mountains, Finwë gathered their entire small group around the fire for one final announcement before the final approach to the sanctuary. "Come Promethia, Aris you may stay where you are unless you can now stand. I have some news." He declared after dinner when the two were resting. Aris limped over to the small fire which the elf had gotten Aris to construct from the sparse plain grass, which had irritated the dark haired boy slightly, where Finwë stood with his hands behind his back and stared into the sky with thought.

"What have you gathered us for?" Aris enquired, propping himself down gingerly on an old hollowed out log.

"It is more for your sake not Promethia's, as she already knows the ways and customs of the riders. Firstly you need to make a decision; you do not have to go through with it if you do not wish."

"Okay, what is this 'decision' you speak of then?" The young boy enquired, now slightly more fluent in his speech from Finwë's tuition.

"Before you enter the rider's sanctuary you need to swear an oath never to tell of its location nor its contents to anybody. Do you accept these terms?"

Aris laughed bitterly, "Seeing as I have come this far I would not have much else to do apart from come with you; to leave at this point would to be to insult your help and to cast myself into the middle of the wilderness. I am going to have to accept I suppose, but I accept unwillingly and if anything goes astray or this is a trick I _will _get my revenge for it."

"Fair enough, you are rightly minded not to trust me considering your situation prior to this; now if you would so kindly repeat after me." The elf said a short phrase in a strange language which Aris, unwillingly, repeated. Concerned as to what he had just said the dark haired boy asked, "What did I just say?"

Promethia answered, _You merely said that you will not reveal the location of our home. Nothing more, nothing less; so do not worry, I can sense it already in you. We are almost safe now, one more day of travelling and we shall have arrived._

"Good, my trust is reinstated in you." This was not the case however, as Aris still had doubts as to exactly why Finwë was acting so towards him. _Is it because of my past? _He thought, _Or is it something before the General's reign… _Casting his memory back he found a void where memories should be but could not explore it so let it go to one side for the meanwhile and returned to the present. "I'd best get some sleep, busy day tomorrow and all eh?"

"Yes, that is so. Sleep well Aris."

"Good night." He called across the fire before limping back to his bed roll and drifting off into the world of dreams where thoughts and doubts swirled around, clouding his mind and twisting his senses until a vision of something came to him clear as if he were witnessing it in his conscious state…

_A flaming fortress could be seen far below, ruined towers scattered across the nearby town. A landslide of snow seemed to have come down from the mountains and crushed the buildings under its gargantuan weight, assumedly killing many; looking around Aris saw that he was sat on a dragon's back with someone grasping his waist. At this moment he did not care who it was and focused instead on the sight in front of him. Suddenly out of nowhere a giant fireball came rocketing towards him and, throwing up his hand, he blocked it and sent it back to whence it came. A lone man stood atop the burning battlements screaming and released another fireball; just as a voice whispered in his ear, Aris faded out of his dreams and returned to consciousness._

As he woke he was sweating profusely and was staring blankly into the sky; shaking his head the dark haired boy focused on the present and dismissed the strange dream before going back to sleep.

Author's note: Greetings once more; and here we are at the end of another chapter. I am quite amazed at myself as today I have written a chapter for this fic and my other fic; both of substantial quality (I hope). I apologise for the lack of action in these past two chapters but as I said, hopefully soon the story will get on its way once more. Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave your thoughts as to what will happen later on in the reviews! The next chapter shall be up soon.

P.s. I was planning on posting this over the weekend however a certain anonymous reviewer encouraged me to post it today; so here it is =)


	5. Among the Trees

Chapter four – Among the Trees

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

The rider's home lay before them, spanning across the wide valley which stretched south from the Great Plains. Little could be made out of the housing there; however, this was due to the fact that a large swath of trees coated the floor and sides of the valley shrouding any habitations from the view of the group who flew far above.

Aris had slept little since his fit the night before as he had been sitting and contemplating its meaning, never having experienced anything like it before. _I wonder if it's a look into the future of sorts… _He pondered silently to himself; _It may just be a bad dream though… Yeh, that's more likely. _Putting the thought to one side for now he focused instead on his arrival at the home of the riders and what he would be doing there.

Suddenly a voice came from behind bringing the young boy out of his thoughts, "We're going to land now so you'd best hold on tight." Finwë called from his position behind Aris, shouting due to the volume of the wind that billowed around them; in response the dark haired boy nodded his head vigorously whilst grasping the front of Promethia's saddle tightly in preparation as the dragon leaned forward and began plummeting towards the ground at an incredible rate.

The sound of the air rushing past almost deafened Aris but he was not concerned about that; his main worry was that Promethia may not pull up in time and they would become a smear on the forested ground. However, his fears were unfounded as the dragon snapped out her massive wings just before she hit the ground and glided gracefully through a gap in the canopy into a small clearing below the trees, landing with a muffled thud on the moss and ferns that coated the ground. They dismounted the dragon in the same fashion again, Finwë getting off first before Promethia lay out on her belly to allow Aris to slide down and the elf to ease him down to the ground.

Once he had successfully lowered himself to the ground Aris looked up and sat it amazement, mouth agape. There in front of them was the grandest and most elegant building Aris had ever witnessed; constructed from what seemed to be the very trees themselves the house stood many stories tall with balconies at intervals up the tree that stood next to it. A large opening in one side allowed sight of a large library of sorts and the entrance, or so Aris assumed, was to allow dragons to access the building with ease. On the top floor there was also an opening similar to the one that adorned the library; however, the inside of the entrance near the peak of the house could not be seen due to its height, being near the top of the tree it sat very high above the ground.

Returning his focus back to the ground Aris noticed that the ground was not entirely coated in the moss and ferns that adorned the area where he stood; there were in fact dirt paths weaving through the undergrowth and near the house that stood before him an open grassy area where, he assumed, dragon and rider could relax free of the troubling ferns that lay elsewhere; something else now troubled the young boy as he glanced around the clearing.

_Where is everyone? If this is the home of the riders then surely there must be some dragon riders here… I'll ask Finw__ë__._

"Where are all the people?" he enquired.

Finwë chuckled, "We are only on the outskirts of the sanctuary; once we near the centre there shall be more people. Shall I help you find a more comfortable place to sit down?"

"That would be best." Aris replied, wrapping his arm around the elf's neck for support as his legs were still in great pain when he tried to walk.

Suddenly a flicker of indecision came across Finwë's face and he stopped walking almost causing Aris to lose his grip; however, the dark haired boy managed to retain his hold and he remained slumped on the elf's shoulder. Looking up at the man he asked, "Why have we stopped? I thought we were headed somewhere where I can sit or not?"

"Sorry; I have just remembered that I need to acquire something and deposit some items at my home before we leave. That is why we landed here but I had forgotten; Promethia, very kindly, reminded me."

"Ah okay. Shall I wait here whilst you go and sort out these things?"

"That would be best." Finwë answered abruptly. Carefully letting Aris rest on the forest floor, on a dry patch of grass where there were neither ferns nor moss, the young boy made himself comfortable whilst Finwë headed off into the large building; which Aris assumed was his home, whilst acquiring Promethia's saddlebags and carrying them along with him into the house.

The elf returned after several minutes now unburdened of the plethora of items he had been carrying before; walking over to Aris and helping the dark haired boy up they re-mounted Promethia who carefully took off, taking care not to collide with the trees, and flew further south into the valley into what seemed to be even denser forest which now coated the sides of the mountains that lined the range; like a blanket draped over the entire floor of the valley.

Again Promethia landed; this time however the moss and ferns had been replaced with a thick grass which lined the clearing that housed an even more amazing sight than what Aris had witnessed just moments before. Sat in front of him was a grand wooden hall adorned with intricate carvings of trees; not only was it engraved with trees but the very building was at one with the surrounding forest for the forest seemed to be part of the building with trees reaching through the roof and out into the sky above. Once more Finwë assisted Aris in climbing down the large white dragon's side and again allowed the young boy to support himself on his shoulder as they walked towards the large hall.

As the two of them walked, along with Promethia who was trailing behind the pair, many people started appearing out of the trees curious as to these intruders that had arrived. Finwë retained his forward gaze, focusing on the building in front of them, unlike Aris who was glancing around to see who it was that was watching them; several riders and dragons were standing at the edge of the clearing looking with curiosity at the spectacle. There were few there but Aris was still nervous at what was to come; not knowing why they had come to this building in particular.

_There must be some reason; perhaps we're here to talk with someone or sort something out… I'm not entirely sure and if I ask Finw__ë__ he most likely won't tell me. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see. _Aris thought with slight annoyance at the fact the elf did not seem to tell him anything. _I do wonder what the reason for his secrecy is. _

Focusing once more on the present Aris noticed that they had now begun ascending the stairs that lined the front of the building and up to the grand doorway which seemed large enough to allow two dragons to stand next to each other and walk through for Promethia passed through with evident ease, the top of the entrance still many feet above her head. Along the edge of the inner walls ran tall balconies with alcoves which overhung the main walkway through the centre; doorways, not as large as the entryway but nearly as grand, lead off to many areas of the hall all of which Aris wished to explore but he knew that he would have to leave to a later date.

At the end of the hallway lay a large door with carved branches spreading from its centre and reaching out towards the edge making the building seem even more at one with forest; aside from the fact that the pillars holding up the balcony were not mere pillars but were trees, reaching up through the very building itself.

Approaching the door the trio suddenly stopped and stood staring at it; Aris wondered what Finwë was doing until the elf shouted a strange word, in what the young boy assumed was the elf's own language. Slowly the branches on the surface retreated from the centre in a dramatic fashion and the doors swung outwards, creating no sound as if the hinges were non-existent. _Magic. _Aris thought in amazement as they walked through the threshold and entered the room beyond.

A large desk was the prominent feature, sitting at the far end of the room with a large window behind it which overlooked the forest below; due to the fact the stairs at the front of the hall were so large in their scale the office sat high above the forest floor. Behind the desk sat a man who looked to be around forty or so; he had dark hair, tinged with white from age, which was well trimmed and only came down to just below his ears – which were pointed so Aris assumed he was an elf. Curious as to who this man was when they reached the desk the dark haired boy blurted out, "Excuse me who are you?"

Instead of answering the young boy's question the strange man turned to face Finwë and looked at him sternly before speaking in the peculiar tongue of the elves to the elf. They discussed something at a hurried pace, Finwë's visage becoming troubled as the conversation went on; finally, after several minutes, they finished talking and the man in the chair at the desk leaned back and spread out his arms in a welcoming gesture.

Only then did he speak in a language that Aris could comprehend, "Welcome home Finwë, Promethia; please sit." Two chairs suddenly appeared behind them and the elf and human sat down, waiting on the man's words.

_He must be someone of importance; the way he speaks and moves rings too much of power… I wonder who he is. _

Before he could ask again the man began speaking to Aris in the human tongue, "Hello, a pleasure to meet you young Aris. Finwë was just telling me about how he found you and brought you here, a foolish decision as it was… Anyway, I don't want to start rambling on. I haven't even introduced myself have I?" Aris shook his head, "Mm-hm. I am the administrator for Eragon who is the leader of the dragon riders; my own name is Elrohir. Welcome to our home in the valley of Djuprdalr, an ancient place which we discovered several hundred years past and made our home; we built this place from the very trees themselves," He gestured to the room, spreading his arms in declaration, "Impressive is it not?"

"Yes, it is sir."

A deep laugh came from Elrohir, "No need to call me sir! Call me Elrohir, as does everyone else. Now I have told you about the generics I think we need to get down to business."

Leaning forward over the desk the elder man now adopted a serious tone, "I never intended for anyone who wasn't a rider to enter our sanctuary from the world; Finwë has broken this rule and he shall be punished accordingly-"

"You can't do that! He was only saving me!"

"That may be so little child," The use of the term annoyed Aris for it belittled him, "However, he still broke the rule and so he shall face the consequences. Even if you may have had to go back to your death that should have been so for it is not our place to interfere with the machinations in the east."

"Why is that then? I've never _seen _you in the east until Finwë showed up; the riders were myths and we hoped for you to save us from our horrible ruler but you never came…" Aris continued, his anger rising.

"We have our reasons; ones which we shall not disclose to you as of yet due to their… Sensitive nature."

"Surely we can tell the boy? He has earned it from what he has been through." Finwë interjected.

"No. Giving that sort of information to an outsider would be dangerous and you know that Finwë; now for the punishment." The administrator shuffled some papers and read something before returning his attention to the pair who sat in front of him, "Finwë – you shall be stripped of your title of ambassador and confined to your house for a week. As for Aris."

Then a loud mental voice broke into the minds of the three humans, w_hy do you punish him so? There is no need Elrohir, no need at all; my rider did only what he thought was right._

"Like I said before Promethia, it is a matter of law and nothing can be changed. Do you wish for me to get Eragon and Saphira to deal with this matter?"

_No Elrohir…_

"Good. Now as for Aris you shall be confined to quarters in this hall for as long as I deem fit; I shall visit you both soon to confirm more things." He then shouted something in the same strange language and an elf and a human, who were most likely riders, came jogging in. The one who came to his side caught Aris' attention; she looked to be around sixteen or so; her hair was brown and she had deep blue eyes, inquisitive and intelligent in their gaze. Tall she stood, several inches higher than Aris when he stood, and she wore a simple forest green tunic with dark boots; the simplicity enhancing her appearance to the young boy who was entranced by the human female. Her pale skin and features made her seem a bit elven, for they were slightly angled; however, she still retained the appearance of a human unless inspected up close.

"Yes Elrohir?" The male of the pair asked.

"Take the human to the quarantine quarters and escort Finwë to his house. Now go." The girl grabbed Aris by the shoulder and tried to pull him along only to find that Aris could not stand properly.

"Has Finwë not healed your legs?" The brown haired female whispered to him, conscious of Elrohir's gaze.

"No? I never knew he could."

"Hmm… Never mind I shall have to ask him why later. Here let me help you," reaching down and pressing her hand against the injured knee the kind elf began chanting slowly in the strange tongue and a light tingling ran through Aris' leg which disappeared within a matter of seconds.

Attempting to stand without assistance Aris found that it was possible; amazed at what the human had done he asked, "Did you just use magic to heal me?"

"Yes I did. Your legs were in a bad state, you had a sprain in the knee and a fractured ankle bone; you shouldn't have been walking at all to be honest. Once you're in your room I'm sure your legs can rest."

"Yes; I hope so. May I ask what your name is?"

She smiled reassuringly as if she were trying to help the dark haired boy, "I am Elena, and you?"

"Aris."

"Nice to meet you Aris; shall we get going then?"

"Okay." He answered abruptly before the pair set off out of the large study and into the main hall, Aris attempting to regain his sense of balance after not walking for several days.

Turning off just outside the study Elena guided Aris through a maze of corridors, the dark haired boy soon losing his way.

After heading through the hall for what must have been at least ten minutes the brown haired girl guided Aris up two flights of stairs when she finally stopped, opened a small door, and lead Aris into his room. It was a small sparsely decorated place with a large window overlooking the forest below; a bed lay in one corner and a desk in the other with a small door leading off to what looked to be some sort of strange room with a depression in the floor – Aris knew not what this would be used for. On the bed were some fresh clothes and food, the young boy assumed it had been laid out for him; and some blankets for fresh bedding.

Motioning to the pile of things Elena said, "Here's a fresh change of clothes and food for you to eat; the desk has writing utensils and some paper if you so wish to do any writing… erm… Any books you want I can go and fetch from the library… That's about it. Are you okay with that?"

"Yes it is far better than I am used to; thank you for your help."

The young human blushed, "It was nothing… I'll let you rest now; good bye Aris." With those final words said she left the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Aris in silence to come to terms with all that had occurred.

Author's note: Greetings again readers and I hope you have enjoyed the latest chapter of Distant Truths. To clarify matters I shall be updating once per week (I think) so expect chapters every Sunday/Saturday; unless I go overboard on the writing and decide to post two :p Again thanks for reading, don't forget to rate and review and you shall find out soon enough if Aris is to become a rider.


	6. Discoveries

Chapter five – Discoveries

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Aris woke to a beautiful sunrise; the sun itself was just peaking over the trees giving an orange hue to the whole forest. He stood at the window that adorned the entirety of the outer wall of his room simply staring out into the sky before walking over to the desk and starting on his breakfast that had been laid out for him.

_Considering I'm imprisoned this is much better than I've ever eaten before. _He thought whilst eating a sort of sweet bread with red sauce dripped over the top _It's just a shame that mum and dad don't have the opportunity to have things like this… _Regret filled his mind for a second as he thought back to his home in the snowy mountains which now lay to the north-east and of the mines. _I do wonder why they're treating me like this. And considering most of them are elves how do they speak my language so well? Unless other humans speak the same language as me… Perhaps Finw__ë__ used a spell to allow them to understand me; that is most likely._

Once he had finished his breakfast the dark haired boy returned to his bed and perched on the edge facing the window so he had a clear view over the forest; seeing as there was nothing better to do he sat stoically, a vigil of the trees below, waiting for anything to break the shroud of boredom that lay over the room.

Two days passed without event leaving Aris pondering what to do with his time, _I could be here for a while. _He thought bitterly to himself, _I may as well make myself comfortable and get something to do; Elena said that she may be able to get some books, I suppose that would be good to practice my reading._

_And so you can see her again. _Came the inclination from the back of his mind.

Putting that thought to one side he instead peered out of the doorway and into the corridor; no one was there. Closing the door behind him Aris returned to the bed and lay down staring at the ceiling; _I guess I'll just have to wait then._

Just as the phrase came to his mind a knock boomed through the door; Aris' heart skipped a beat, _finally someone to talk to. _Walking over he peered round the edge of the frame and looked out into the corridor beyond and was intrigued at what he saw. Outside the door stood Elena, but in front of her stood an elder man whom Aris thought was Elrohir at first until he noticed that this man had brown hair, not black, and did not look entirely elven. The man had brown hair which came down to his shoulders and pointed ears – much like an elf's. However, his features were not as angled as the other elves Aris had seen nor was he cleanly shaven, for this man had a well-trimmed beard. Even though the dark haired boy was curious as to who this man was he let both the person and Elena in first before asking.

Therefore, once they were all seated on various seats scattered around the room, did Aris speak, "Hello, I am Aris. Who may you be?"

The man chuckled slightly, "You told me he was rather eloquent in his speech for his background; you were correct Elena."

She smiled in response to the man's comment, "Haha yes; he reminds me of an eastern noble I met once, except he is younger of course."

"Indeed. Sorry, where are my manners? I am yet to introduce myself to you; I am Eragon, leader of the dragon riders." The man proffered his hand in greeting but Aris did not shake it, simply amazed at who it was that sat before him.

_The Leader of the dragon riders! He looks so… Well like a common elf. I'm sure he is more powerful than his appearance suggests though. _

Only then realising that Eragon wished for him to shake his hand Aris hurriedly returned the gesture which Eragon chuckled at again. "Don't worry! I don't bite; well Saphira my dragon does."

Aris smiled nervously at the jest, "That is good to know. Why are you here though, I thought I was meant to be in quarantine?"

Eragon made a dismissive gesture with his hand, "That was hasty on Elrohir's part; he should not have done so without consulting me first and I think I shall have a word with him about that. Anyway the reason I am here is to meet you and welcome you to sanctuary of course; I thought you may appreciate a look around."

The young boy's eyes lit up at the suggestion, "I'd love that! If that is okay with you of course,"

Elena laughed at his reaction, "See I told you Eragon, I knew he would get bored easily in here."

"Yes, yes. I'm surprised you are so cheery considering the things that have happened to you of late Aris. I am most sorry to hear about them if there is any way we can help-"

"Those are for me to worry about as it is my past; don't trouble yourself with them Eragon sir. I prefer to leave those matters to one side anyway for it is not a cheerful thought to bring to mind."

"Then I am sorry for bringing it up. Shall we begin our miniature tour then?" Aris nodded keenly in answering, "Excellent, let us be off." The trio stood and headed out of the door and down the stairs at the end of the corridor.

The hall's various passageways were as complicated as Aris remembered them being from when Elena had first shown him through to the room; various doors went off at random intervals to rooms containing unknown things. Most, Aris assumed, were residential for they seemed to have numbers inscribed on the door – at least that's what he thought it was due to his basic tuition from Finwë allowing him to understand such things.

On the way to wherever Eragon chose as their destination the elder rider took his time to ask of Aris and of his abilities, as if he were testing him for something. The young boy mentioned about the few lessons that Finwë had given him in reading and writing, but expressed a desire for further tutelage which Eragon seemed keen to give.

"I've only heard of what the east is truly like from hear-say; is it true that there are many mountains there?" Elena asked after a period of silence in the group.

"Yes, there are many. We flew for a whole day across them on the way here."

A look of slight shock came across the young woman's face causing Eragon to chuckle slightly, "She is easily impressed if you must know Aris. I have only known her for a few months yet she still never ceases to be amazed at things; she is yet to see the Beor Mountains, now _those _are a real sight to see."

"What are these Mountains like?" Aris enquired.

"They are the highest mountains in the whole of Alagaesia standing above the clouds themselves. Even dragons cannot reach the peaks of them, that is how high they are."

"Alagaesia?"

Eragon looked at the boy queerly, "You mean you don't know where Alagaesia is?"

"Erm no?"

"Hmm… You give the impression of being well-educated from your speech and accent you see so I assumed that you knew such things; perhaps a visit to the library would be worthwhile to answer some of your questions."

"I'd love that; shall we head off there now then?"

"It was going to be part of me showing you around anyway so I don't see why not; come on then you two keep up." Eragon began walking at a fast pace meaning that Elena and Aris had to jog to catch up with him.

Once the group had been walking for a while Aris spotted a large doorway to one side with an ornate chest sitting on a table at the end of the room; inside were several objects, Aris being unsure of what they were. Eragon and Elena were a fair way ahead of the boy so he stopped, assuming they wouldn't notice, and peered in to the room. _I'm sure they won't mind if I go and have a look at this room. _He thought naively to himself before crossing the threshold.

Looking around the room was dark except for an eerie red lighting which maintained a low light level inside allowing ease of sight, due to the fact that there were no windows the torches were a necessity. Walking over to the chest Aris peered over the edge, for it sat high up on the table. The objects were the colours that he had witnessed before but at the doorway, for he was a fair way from the chest, were now clear.

Inside sat three spherical stones of varying hues; one being silver, another being a deep blue and the last was crimson. Aris stood staring at these objects, entranced by their appearance; suddenly his hand reached out instinctively towards the silver stone, the young boy unable to control his movements. As he touched the stone a loud sound blazoned through the air and suddenly Aris found himself unable to move at all. _Oh dear god! Why did I touch that? Some strange force drove me to it was as if… Why is it making such a loud noise?_

He heard hurried footsteps coming from behind him and a shout of something in the strange language. A strange feeling then came over the dark haired boy, he felt like he was slowly being pulled out of deep mud with the pressure on his body easing. Falling to the ground Aris found his body unruly to move after being retained in the strange magical trap; regaining his senses Aris looked around to see Eragon and Elena stood there in shock. Then one phrase came from the lead rider's mouth, "What have you done?"

Author's note: Greetings once more readers. Firstly I wish to apologise for the shortness of this chapter but I found that I have a condition called writer's block; I may need to go to my GP about it but that shall be arranged next week… Again if the quality is shabby in any places don't hesitate to tell me either by pm or review as I do find that constructive criticism always helps me improve which shall enhance the reading experience for everyone! As to what will happen to Aris for sneaking away to touch those 'stones' you shall have to wait till the next chapter (which will be released next week) to find out! Thanks for reading and see you soon =)

Note as of 14th July: I shall be posting every Wednesday and Saturday for the duration of the holidays (except from the 3rd-10th August as I am on holiday) so expect chapters more often =P


	7. Consequences

Chapter six – Consequences

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

"So what you're saying is; I just touched a dragon egg?"

"Yes!" Eragon said sternly.

The pair was sat back in Aris' room and had been talking about what the dark haired boy had found in the chest; Eragon had to explain to the boy that the things he had seen were not stones but were in fact the dragon eggs that were sent to Alagaesia each year for the choosing of the dragon riders. The reason for the wait was due to the fact that Eragon wished to ensure that no dragon had hatched for Aris, though the head rider wasn't sure what was going on at the moment.

"We shall have to wait a few more days to confirm that the dragon has not hatched for you; if it does, which is highly unlikely, then you shall have to become a dragon rider like the rest of us – you will have no say in that matter." A strange look came across Eragon's face then and he stared at the ceiling mouthing something before returning his attention to Aris; "Sorry something has come up and I have to leave. Do you wish for me to leave you with Elena?"

"Erm I suppose…"

"Very well; see you later then." With that Eragon left and headed off through the hall; as he left the door opened and a certain brown haired female came in.

"Hello Aris." She said cheerfully.

"Hello."

"How are you?"

"Fine."

She looked at him curiously, "Not saying much are you?"

"Nope."

"Eugh I give up talking to you if you are going to be like this! It's like speaking to a brick wall; I'm going back to the library."

As she was about to leave Aris called, "Wait!"

Elena spun around, "What is it?"

"Sorry; I'm just annoyed at not realising what I was doing when I touched the dragon egg. Eragon seemed really angry."

The brown haired girl came and sat next to him, placing her hands on her lap, "Mm-hm; it's more the fact that he'll have a new rider to cope with, especially one as…"

"You mean as poorly educated as me?"

She blushed, "Yeh."

Silence came between them so, feeling awkward, Aris asked, "Are you a dragon rider?"

Elena laughed at the question, "Yes I am. You are yet to meet my dragon; however, I am sure I can introduce him to you at some point."

"I'd like that. Why doesn't Elrohir allow non-riders into the sanctuary?"

"He only said that because he doesn't like you; I got that impression as soon as he called me in to take you and Finwë away. He and Finwë already had some rivalry and hatred from when they were younger but when Elrohir did not become a rider and his 'friend' did, well that really sparked off the hatred and now that Finwë brought you here _you_." Elena pointed at Aris, "Are the perfect scapegoat for Elrohir; so be careful what you do especially if you become a rider."

"What makes you think I am going to be a dragon rider then eh? Do you have some mystical powers of foresight?"

She sighed, "No I do not. I'm just being optimistic stone-head." The young female knocked Aris over the back of the head with her hand.

"Why did you do that?" The dark haired boy rubbed the back of his head.

"Oh I didn't mean to hurt you… Sorry. I suppose I just got a bit over excited or something."

"It's okay."

Again Elena looked at Aris queerly, "I assume you are not used to talking to people much; from what Eragon told me on the way here this morning I hear that you were alone working in the mines for two years, that must have been horrible!"

"It was." Aris answered abruptly, not wanting to bring up the subject in fear of thinking about what happened to his father; _And I wouldn't want to start crying in front of her… _He thought bitterly.

"You've never spoken to a girl before have you?"

"Ha! Can't say I have considering my past; I was more concerned with keeping my family alive than anything. You're more full of questions than I was with Finwë," Elenesse retreated slightly at the youth's sudden outburst; noticing this Aris said, "I'm sorry if I offend you; it's just I find talking to people like this a bit awkward, considering I don't really _know _you that well."

"Considering you're confined to your room I'm sure you will have lots of time to tell me all about yourself then!" Elena said smiling causing Aris to sigh.

"Well don't expect me to regale you of tales of heroism and such. Like I've said, and I'm sure you know, I've had a pretty bad life so far. What you brought yesterday for my meal was the first proper dinner I'd had in my entire life to tell you the truth."

"Oh… At least you're eating properly now. At least we're already getting to know each other better as you're telling me all about yourself." Aris sighed in exasperation again causing Elena to laugh at his reaction, "Don't worry; I have to head off back to my dragon soon so you won't have to put up with me for too long."

The two of them sat and talked for several hours to pass the time; once they had finished it was well into mid-afternoon and both were tired. The only reason they had stopped however was because Eragon came to look for them both for otherwise the two of them would have talked for many hours longer. _She talks so much we'd be here well into tomorrow. _Aris thought to himself when Eragon came, _I can't say she isn't a nice person to talk to though; so kind and-_

_Stop thinking like this Aris; I know you fancy her but don't let her distract you._

_Why do you always question me mind?_

_They say that if you talk to yourself you're going insane._

_Shut up!_

Only then did the dark haired boy notice that he was being watched by a curious Elena and Eragon; he wondered why they were staring at him but dismissed the thought allowing himself to focus on the present. "So, why are you back here Eragon?"

"To check on you; I was worried you may have sneaked off somewhere again considering your escapade yesterday."

"Okay." Aris said dubiously, "Has the egg hatched yet?"

Eragon gave the boy a stern look, "Dragons only hatch after a few days; you shall have to wait a little longer to find out I'm afraid. Me and Elrohir have also been discussing something else, for he is my 'right hand man' so to speak; we both believe that your quarantine has gone on for long enough-" Both Aris and Elena perked up at the mention of possible freedom, the former not noticing the latter's reaction, "So the decision has been made – Aris shall, after we have confirmed the egg has hatched or not, shall be sent back to his homeland to face trial there if the latter proves true."

The announcement caused uproar in the pair of youths; both of them began shouting and pointing at Eragon accusing and cursing the rider until the elder elf raised a hand which silenced them both. "That is final; there is no questioning it. All you can really do now Aris is wait and see what happens." Trying to reassure the dark haired boy Eragon gave him a smile but it did nothing, Aris still remained immersed in his anger. "Anyway, I shall see you in a few days for the final outcome." With those debilitating words said Eragon left the room and closed the door behind him, returning Elena and Aris to their chat alone.

"How could they do that to you Aris; if you're sent back to your homeland from what I heard from Finwë they'll kill you!"

Aris spoke now in a resigned tone, that of a condemned man, "I know that. I'll just have to go along with it I suppose."

"You can't sit there and do nothing you idiot! Surely you could ask for an investigation into the situation because this time Elrohir has taken it too far."

"I don't know anything of your laws and customs so it would be of no use; like I said, I shall go without complaint. I've been through enough to know when to give up on something and this I cannot stop so leave me be."

Turning Aris to face her Elena made Aris look right into her eyes, "Aris you are _not _leaving here; they have no right to send you to your death! They're dragon riders for heaven's sakes and to do what they plan to is equivalent to murder."

Still retaining his resigned tone Aris asked, "Are you just saying this because you fancy me? A slave yet you don't want to admit it?"

The brown haired girl looked at the floor for a second in embarrassment before looking up at the dark haired boy that sat opposite him and spoke in the ancient language, the language in which only the truth can be told.

"Yes."

And she kissed him.

The pair embraced for only a few seconds but to Aris they were the most wonderful moments of his entire life; he had never felt love from anyone except his parents before and the current moment was simply stunning for him.

"Erm… Well…"

"Err…."

Both were uncertain on how to react so they sat gazing into opposite corners of the room, attempting to avoid each other's gazes.

Aris was the first to speak, "I didn't expect you to do that."

"Neither did I." Elena admitted to the boy, "I'd best be off for now I have to go and help out with Elrohir, even though I don't really want to. See you around then."

"Bye" Aris called meekly, his voice croaking slightly due to a saw throat and inability to speak after what had just occurred.

_Well it's obvious she fancies me now… I don't even know what to do; I think a break from seeing her would be best so we can have some time to think about it. Even though she is a nice person I wouldn't want to get too attached to her so that when I leave she gets all upset._

Leaning back on his bed Aris prepared himself for a long wait to see what the consequences of his actions would be; be it good or bad.

Several more days past and no more was seen of Elena; occasionally he saw a fleeting glance of someone at the door but Aris could not be sure who it was that was passing for it may have even been his imagination that someone was watching over him. He often contemplated about his home and how his family were; also worrying about the fact that his family may be punished for him killing the guards…

Still no news of the dragon egg came and the dark haired boy began to worry about his sentence for it would not be long until he was forced to return home. No more had been seen of Finwë either, although Aris was not surprised for the elf was also quarantined to his own house for a week.

After counting the days six more passed; on the morning of that day a knock came at the door, fearing the worst Aris called, "Who's there?"

His worries had come to fruition, Elrohir answered, "It is I, Elrohir administrator to Eragon. I am here for your 'exile' if you can call it that; now if you would follow me." Getting up Aris shuffled across to the elf and began following him along the many corridors of the hall; again losing his way but recognising the room where the dragon eggs had been contained and noting that several people were gathered around the chest at the end of the room. Dismissing the strange gathering Aris instead focused on what he would do when he was returned back, _If I could escape as soon as they left me there; surely General Adulphus would just shoot down a dragon on site? But even if I do escape I'll starve to death; there's no other towns or villages nearby. If only I could trick them or…_

The dark haired boy's train of thought was interrupted by the chattering of a large crowd that had gathered in the atrium of the hall; all of the riders, elves and dragons alike staring at Aris and Elrohir, the elf and the slave, walking through the middle of the room until the pair stopped at the entry way where a dragon and rider awaited to, Aris assumed, take him away.

Elrohir spoke now in a loud voice, amplified by magic to increase its intensity, "Today we witness the return of this boy, Aris son of none, to his homeland in the east to face the according trials back there. Now I cast you from this-"

"Stop!" A female voice cried out from inside the hall causing everyone to turn in shock.

An out of breath Elena came sprinting and panting over to Elrohir and Aris with a strange object in her hands which Aris could tell was a stone; looking down at the object the dark haired boy saw that it was in fact some kind of small bird with membrane sticking to it in her hands, its head poking out of the top of the stone. Only then did Aris realise what it was.

A dragon.

"What is this? He is meant to be exiled."

"Only if he is a non-rider, as is our tradition which is only exempt for Blodhgarm and other such people. Now Aris touch the dragon to see if you are the rider."

Unsure of what to do Aris nervously reached out and patted the dragon on the head. Suddenly what felt like a bolt of ice shot through his arm and the young boy lost consciousness.

The dragon began to hum contently.

Author's note: Sorry everyone but you shall have to wait till the next chapter to find out what happens! Even though it is pretty obvious to those who have read the first 100 pages of the first book; not much else to say really except thanks for reading and don't forget to rate and review. The next chapter shall be up on Saturday.


	8. Hatchling

Chapter seven – Hatchling

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Aris woke to find himself lying down on a bed somewhere he did not recognise; the ceiling was wooden and as natural as the forest itself, as was the rest of the hall, making it rather difficult for the dark haired boy to identify his location. Recalling his memories he thought back to before he had blacked out and when he had touched the thing, _the dragon, _Aris thought with wonder to himself.

A sharp pain in his left hand alerted him to something so he glanced down to see what was causing it. A diffused white oval, which at first glance seemed to be a scar, was engraved onto his palm; noting that he had never had a scar there he wondered what it could be, _Maybe I got it whilst running through the mines? No… I would have noticed it. If only I could get answers from someone. _

As if on cue the door opened and a familiar figure walked in – it was Eragon.

"Good afternoon Aris; how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay I think… What happened? Why did I black out?" The youth asked in a dazed tone.

"That is why I came to talk to you Aris. Do you remember the dragon hatchling that you touched?"

"Vaguely yes, why do you ask?" A hopeful look came to the boy's face at the prospect of some answers to his many questions.

"Well you see; it's hard to explain." The elder elf gained a thoughtful look as he contemplated how to explain the situation to Aris – who was quite unaware of what was going on. "Simply you have become a dragon rider."

Aris' mouth formed an oval in shock, "Bu- Wh- how?"

"The dragon hatched for you Aris, it chose _you _as its rider; therefore, you really have no choice but to become a dragon rider. When you touched the hatchling you gained the mark on your palm, the gedwey ignasia or the shining palm in your own language; it is the symbol of a dragon rider as they have touched a dragon hatchling. In fact, where is your dragon?"

"I-I don't know."

"Hmm. Ah there it is." Eragon picked up a small silver dragon with its wings folded against its side; the dragon looked to be asleep at the moment and was humming as it was placed down on the bed next to its rider. "It seems happy." The elder rider said with a grin, "I suppose I had best leave you two to rest now as I can sense the both of you are tired."

"Okay see you." Eragon started to get up and leave the room, "Wait!" Aris suddenly called out.

Turning around Eragon gave the boy a questioning raise of the eyebrow, "Where is Elena? Can I see her?"

"I'm afraid not, she is currently… engaged with other affairs; at least for the moment. You and your dragon need to have some time alone until it has grown enough; until then I am afraid you shall not be able to see Elena, she also proves a bit distracting when you are trying to concentrate also especially after the other day."

Ignoring the mention of what had happened Aris asked, "How long does a dragon take to grow to a reasonable size?"

"A few weeks."

"What?" The boy let out a resigned sigh, "Oh well then. See you around then." He said in a sullen tone.

"Good bye for now Aris." And with that the elder rider left Aris to contemplate how to raise a dragon.

Looking down at the small animal Aris gave it a curious look, _How am I meant to care for it? I didn't know dragons existed until the other day so I'm clueless as to how to look after a one…_

Then the dragon woke, opening its jaws wide in a strange yawn, and glanced around as if trying to calculate where it was; since it had not noticed him Aris took the chance to inspect the small being whilst it was conscious. Silver scales coated its entire topside whereas on its belly there were no scales but instead skin, the same colour as the rest of its dazzling hide; a row of small spikes ran the length of its back down to its tail which snaked around its body as it was curled up. Aris sat awestruck at the sight of the being gaping at it, and then it turned its attention to him the deep green eyes staring right into him holding the dark haired boy's gaze.

As soon as the dragon had looked at Aris it returned to its resting position curled up on the bed watching out into the corridor in expectation, though Aris did not know what it would be waiting for.

Feeling slightly awkward sitting there not trying to interact with his dragon Aris said, "Hello, how are you?"

It spun around at the sudden noise and retained its gaze for a few seconds before returning to its original place once more; _it doesn't seem to want to do much. I wonder if its hungry… _Glancing around Aris spotted some meat that he had been given with lunch, which he had not eaten yet, so he picked it up and proffered it to the small dragon. As fast as lightning it snapped up the meat between its fierce jaws and started humming contently whilst rubbing against Aris' arm, as if asking for more.

"I don't have any more." He said with a chuckle which brought a slightly disappointed appearance to the dragon's eyes making Aris feel guilty. _It seems rather cunning, and more intelligent than I thought. I wonder if dragons are actually clever beings? I should go and ask Eragon; he probably knows. _However, the dark haired boy dismissed the thought as he did not know where he was nor did he know his way around the hall, if he was in the hall. His curiosity was too great so, to remove his uncertainty, Aris peered out of the window.

Outside the forest was spread beneath him, as it was across the rider's home, yet he seemed lower down than he had been in the hall; also the surrounding area was quieter, more tranquil and there were few, if any, visible people. Returning to his bed Aris found his dragon stood up and watching him, _I wonder how long it's been watching me? _

Suddenly a strange feeling came into Aris' head, as if a foreign presence were invading his mind; the dark haired boy shook his head attempting to rid himself of the being, his hair swirling around him like a dark tornado. As the youth did so the dragon gave him a curious look and seemed to give up on something as it returned to the bed.

Feeling slightly fatigued Aris decided to go to sleep for now and leave his questions for the next day, as outside dusk was coming over the forest. Lying down on his bed the dark haired boy let sleep overcome him, his dragon curling up next to its rider's prone form.

The next day dawned and Aris was awoken, this time by his dragon which was prodding him in the stomach with its muzzle, "No, please Vordur; I don't want to-" He shot up panting and sweating profusely from his nightmare, "Oh. It's only you." Aris looked at the dragon who returned his glare; again the inclination of hunger came into his mind, however it was not he who was in need of food, it was something else. _The dragon. _The dark haired boy realised that it was the dragon who had somehow been tugging at his thoughts and mind, sending him its desires. _It's almost as if the dragon is linked to me in some way but- _

A sudden noise at the door alerted Aris to the presence of somebody entering; both he and his dragon turned their curious gazes to the entryway of the room to see whom it was that was disturbing them.

Eragon had returned.

"Hello again Aris; I brought you some breakfast." The elder rider gained a slightly worried look when he saw the dark haired boy who appeared to be very pale, "Is all well Aris? You seem a bit pale; have you had anything wrong whilst sleeping?"

"I've been fine." The youth said in a definite tone preventing Eragon from enquiring any further on the subject.

"Very well. Here is something for you to eat anyway." He put down a tray of some food and a pile of clothing on the side table before sitting down on the bed, putting the dragon in between him and Aris. "I can see you are buzzing with questions to ask me so I shall not stop you. What do you wish to know?"

"Where am I?" Aris asked in the same tone he had spoken with before.

"In my house." Eragon answered equally as stern.

"How am I meant to care for my dragon?"

Eragon laughed bitterly, "That shall take some time to teach; have you talked to your dragon at all or not?"

Not wanting to tell the elder rider about his foolish attempt to communicate with the small beast Aris said, "Erm… no." Causing Eragon to laugh.

"You have Aris, I can tell; you simply felt foolish doing it as you did not get an answer, is this correct?"

"Yes." He said sullenly, looking at his toes in shame.

"There's no need to be ashamed Aris; the fact of the matter is that your dragon cannot talk yet, it takes time for it to mature enough. However," Eragon raised a finger pointedly, "You and your dragon can still communicate with your minds; considering I will most likely be your tutor for a while I would like you to try it out. Just reach out with your mind towards your dragon."

The dark haired boy looked at Eragon in amazement, "You? Be _my _tutor?"

"Mm-hm; is there an issue with this?"

"No, not at all! I'm just shocked that you would take your own time to tutor me, someone from my kind of background."

"I think you have promise Aris; also if I were to leave you to the other tutors they would not be in favour of you, Elrohir has distorted their views slightly and brought prejudice against you and your past. At least with me, here, you are safe from that."

"Thank you. Shall I try communicating with my dragon now?"

"If you so wish."

Closing his eyes Aris focused all of his concentration on the task at hand. He relaxed slightly and allowed his mind to lose hold of his body and drift away into the nether; as soon as his conscious self left his body the feeling of openness crushed down on him, stifling his mind like a blanket so he retreated.

_I can do this. _The dark haired boy reassured himself building up the confidence for another attempt. Once he was ready the youth relaxed and again allowed his mind to stray.

This time he was successful; he felt his consciousness come into contact with another and he reached into it, trying to break through. However, as soon as he came into contact with this presence he heard a growl; this served as a distraction and made Aris lose concentration so he retreated to his own body.

When he looked around he found the dragon growling at him, sharp teeth bore in a fierce snarl. Attempting to calm the beast Aris stroked it on the head lightly, which seemed to work for it stopped growling and gave him what seemed to be a smile, all be it a very dragon-esque one, before returning to its long slumber.

"Well done Aris; you successfully reached into your dragon's mind."

"You knew that would happen?" Aris asked in a slightly angered tone.

"Mm-hm." Eragon replied calmly, "I was simply testing your mental capabilities and they seem to be good; now try sharing an image or a thought with it."

Again Aris relaxed and found a memory to share with the dragon; he searched through many but thought them unsuitable for this. One suddenly came out from the rest – the one of Elena kissing him, _It seems to be the only suitable for this, at least I'm not sharing it with Eragon I suppose. Here it goes. _Taking the memory he sent it across to the dragon, down a strange link between them that Aris didn't know existed until that point.

Opening his eyes Aris looked across at the dragon to see if it had gotten the memory. He got no physical reaction but instead he received something back, a memory from the dragon. Delving into it the dark haired boy saw that the image was that of the dragon when it had first seen Elena standing over its egg. _It worked! I communicated with a dragon; no, _my _dragon._

In response the dragon started humming again, as if it were satisfied with the result of the exercise.

"You seem to have been successful Aris, this is good. I want you to practice this as much as you can for the bond between dragon and rider is more important than anything else in the entire world; for without cooperation the two of you are almost useless together. I think that is enough for today so you can rest. Tomorrow I believe we shall start with this along with other things; I shall meet you for lunch here before we go down to my dining room, so you are not confined here all day. Is all well with you?"

Aris struggled to get words out in his current state of amazement, "Y-yes. That'd be great."

"Excellent. See you later then." And with that Eragon left Aris and his dragon to think over what had occurred.

Two more weeks passed and Aris' knowledge grew dramatically under Eragon's tutelage. His link with the dragon grew stronger every single day and when the elder rider was not around Aris and the dragon often shared thoughts and feelings; the dark haired boy talking about anything and everything to the small silver being not caring if it did not fully understand him.

The dragon grew dramatically in size after the first few days; its wingspan spread a vast distance already but even that increased by a large amount. After a week and a half it was too large to keep inside so Aris asked Eragon if they could make some kind of shelter outside for the dragon, to which the elder rider agreed. The dragon had just settled into its new home outside and Aris was there resting with it. The human had been talking for a while now, the dragon listening intently to every word, until he was interrupted by something in his mind. It was a simple sentence yet all the more surprising because of it.

_That was an interesting memory you showed me Aris. _A strange sound emanated from the dragon, it was not a growl but something else almost as if.

_It's laughing at me! _Aris thought to himself, _But that means… _Then he realised. It was neither Eragon nor anyone else who had just spoken to him.

It was his dragon.

Author's note: And so ends another chapter. I do apologise for any grammatical or spelling errors but a friend of mine who sometimes edits the chapters is away on holiday; I assume it is still fairly readable though. Again, thank you for reading; don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out fairly soon.

P.s. See if you can find the minecraft reference =P


	9. Rider and Dragon

Chapter eight – Rider and Dragon

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

_I apologise for the strange greeting Aris; I did not realise it would surprise you so._

_It's fine; I'm sure you have a great sense of humour and found it funny to tease me about me liking Elena. _The dark haired boy retorted in annoyance.

The dragon made the strange noise again, _Hmm, it seems you are rather reluctant to talk to me after what I said; that I am not surprised at. However, I think it best if we are to be rider and dragon that we get along with each other now instead of the disputes which may carry on into the future. _The silver scaled dragon suggested.

_What if I don't want to co-operate with you?_

_Then you would make a poor dragon rider indeed. _The reply left Aris with no rebuttal so the boy remained silent.

_Stupid dragon, knowing more than me. It's only been alive for a few days yet it seems far more intelligent and witty than myself; I don't know how it's managed that… I suppose I have been telling it a bit about the world so it must have picked up things from that._

_I can hear what you're thinking you know; also I'll have you know that I am not a stupid dragon._

Aris jumped back in shock at the dragon's sudden interruption and almost fell through the side of the shelter which he and Eragon had constructed; _How did you know what I was thinking? _He exclaimed mentally.

_Erm, we have a mind link little one? I thought you knew that._

_I did but I did not realise that it meant we could see into each other's minds. _This fact was a strange revelation to Aris as it made him slightly scared; if the dragon could see into his mind surely others would be able to see his thoughts and emotions.

_Do not worry little one; I can protect your mind for you._

At the remark Aris relaxed slightly for he sensed that the dragon was telling the truth; however, there was another thing the youth was concerned about, _Why do you keep on calling me little one?_

_Because you are my rider little one; I simply find the name fitting for you. Do you have an issue with it?_

_No, not at all. _Aris replied with a hint of fear in his voice for he knew arguing with a dragon would be a deadly mistake.

The silver scaled being hummed contently at its rider's response, _Good._

The pair returned to their silent state once more; simply observing the forest the two admired its leafy brilliance, many animals darting in and out of the trees, the plethora of plants that littered the clearing in front of Eragon's house near the edge of the sanctuary and on the low hills that lead up to the steep valley sides.

_I've just realised something! You don't have a name do you?_

_That I do not. _

_Well we can give you a name then! _Aris said with evident excitement at the prospect of naming the dragon.

The silver scaled beast sighed, _Eugh. Okay then; I shall only accept if I find it to my liking though._

Aris began reciting a list of names off the top of his head using words joined together to make a name, names of people he knew, some he even just made up on the spot but all of them seemed to amuse the dragon to no end. After asking if Fyrngarm was a suitable name Aris decided to give up and folded his arms sitting sullenly in a corner of the small shelter facing away from the dragon.

Just then they were both disturbed by someone walking over to their small retreat; Aris spun around to try and see whom it was that was coming. It was none other than Eragon who was leaning down so he could see into the shelter with a smirk on his face as if he were amused at something. Before the dark haired boy could ask the elder rider why he was here Eragon explained for him, "I think you fail to realise that she is a female dragon Aris."

Only then did the youth realise that he had been using male names, _So you're a she then?_

The dragon did the strange laugh again, _Yes._

Aris scanned his mind for other names which he could use, at first he could not come up with anything suitable however one name suddenly came to his mind. _I wonder if she'll like it._

Instead of speaking with his mind Aris spoke out loud so that both Eragon and the dragon could hear him, "Are you Arelía?"

Arelía nodded in approval whilst remaining silent; Eragon instead commented on the choice of name by Aris, "A very suitable name, considering 'Arget' is silver in the ancient language which matches the colour of the scales. I think it was by coincidence that you chose the name for that reason yes?"

Aris nodded an affirmative, "Mm-hm. That is so."

Eragon chuckled again, as was the norm for him in situations like this, "It's quite surprising really; the way you named your dragon, that is Arelía, was not dissimilar to how I named Saphira."

Curious as to what the story Eragon mentioned was Aris enquired, "How did you name Saphira?"

Waving his hand dismissively the elder rider said, "That is a story for another time. I came out to tell you that your dinner was ready so would you care to join me? I'm sure Saphira will be keen to meet you too."

Arelía seemed to perk up at the mention of another dragon, _It would be a pleasure to meet Saphira. Shall we get going then Aris?_

_Of course. Do you want to take the lead?_

She did not answer directly but instead started walking around the side of the building to the front entrance of the building; normally the group ate inside, however a table had been laid in the well cut lawn that resided by the house. As Aris rounded the corner a large being gradually came into view until he finally witnessed its gargantuan size in full – the wingspan of the dragon was ginormous and its whole body was the length of several army barracks. All-in-all the blue scaled being seemed to be almost as large as a small hill.

Aris stood gaping at the huge dragon who simply stared at him in return. Eragon was the one to bring the dark haired boy out of his shocked state, "You are easily shocked Aris, that I now know. I would like you to meet my dragon Saphira."

_Greetings little ones. Eragon has told me much of you, but little of your dragon; I know that she is named, sorry _you, _Arelía have chosen sed name._

_That I have. Aris decided upon it for me and I believe he chose well. _The small dragon replied with great respect towards her elder.

_That he did; it is befitting of both your calm demeanour and scales that name, although I have heard of a dragon with a similar title before…_

Aris looked at Saphira curiously; speaking with his voice instead of his mind for he was not confident in his ability to speak thusly, "What is this dragon that you speak of? Are they still alive now?"

_That I do not know. Hmm… I shall have to find out for you, I believe you would find it rather interesting to find out your namesake._

_I would be interested, _Arelía continued keenly, _however I am also hungry, so are we able to eat now for I doubt my hunger can last much longer before I must sate it._

Saphira laughed like Arelía had done, _Of course little one go ahead. We shall talk whilst you eat._

The silver dragon padded over to the side of the table and began wolfing down a small haunch of deer with gusto, emphasising her hunger. Whilst his dragon ate Aris took his time to sit down at the table and chat with Eragon and Saphira. Over the large meal they talked much; of dragons and their life cycles, which Aris listened to very keenly, of the sanctuary and of many other things. At one point the youth even asked, "Why do you only eat vegetables? Surely you need meat? I am used to vegetables, what with my background, but I thought all nobles and rich people ate meat all the time. And you did give me meat for lunch the other week."

"To answer the latter that is because you are not fully under the regime yet. As for the former that is not so. Elves are only adamant with one rule which is that no animals should be killed when making things, be it clothing, armour, food or anything else."

"Oh… I never realised that your kind were vegetarians. Like I said I'm not at all used to this style of living." Aris said awkwardly.

_Do not worry Aris; no new rider who comes here is, except perhaps the elven riders but they are an exception. I'm sure you'll be able to adapt over time. _Saphira said reassuringly to the youth.

_I am sure you are correct Saphira. I have another question also._

"What may that be?" Eragon enquired.

"What is the ancient language?"

The elder rider sighed, "The explanation is not a short one; do you still want me to tell you?"

Aris was not easily deterred, "Yes."

"Very well. The ancient language is the language that all living beings used to speak; however, it was lost over time. All elves still speak it, as I'm sure you've noticed, and it is used in all forms of magic for the language controls the way magic works.

"The people who created the language were called the grey folk; they were rumoured to be powerful magi but after they created the enchantment their power dwindled and few – if any – of their people remain in this land. After binding magic to the language it allowed more control over the arcane forces meaning that magic could be used with more accuracy and the danger that using magic once posed was erased."

_That is an impressive story I must say. _Arelía commented.

"Indeed; one that I do not tell often though can recall well, for I remember being told it when I was a young rider." Noticing that the dishes were cleaned of food Eragon continued by saying, "Seeing as we have finished our meal do you wish to return to your room or would you rather remain outside with Arelía?"

Aris contemplated the choice for a second before deciding upon one of the options, "I think I shall stay outside; don't want Arelía getting lonely now do we?"

The silver dragon nuzzled his arm appreciatively, _No we would not Aris. Come on then. _She walked back round the side of Eragon's house and back to the shelter which had been made specifically for her, her dark haired rider following suit.

Both of them talked for a while, Aris telling Arelía many things about the world; the dragon took a huge interest in all matters and seemed very keen to learn, eating up the information her rider was giving her. The silver scaled being asked almost as many questions as Aris did but the rider was not annoyed; in fact he was also eager to share the information with someone as he had never had the chance to talk openly with someone. _Apart from Elena. _He thought to himself.

As the sun was setting both of them decided it was time to rest. Instead of returning to his room Aris decided to stay and keep Arelía company; so he lay in the other corner of the shelter and rested his head against his dragons side before drifting off into a deep sleep.

Again a vision came to him, clearer than the last…

"_Aris! Aris! Look out!"_

_A fireball came flying past his head which the dragon which he was riding dodged nimbly._

_His body turned around with his consent and he saw that Elena was sitting behind him; she had a serious gaze upon her visage and was clad in thick plate-armour as if she were in some sort of battle._

_A voice suddenly came from below._

"_To think that you were once a mere slave boy! And I let you escape all those years ago Aris; I shall make sure not to make that mistake again."_

"_Wait, it's you! H-"_

He woke covered in sweat and was shaking profusely; Arelía looked at her rider with concern, _Do not worry Aris. You can go back to sleep now, I shall watch over you._

_Okay. _The dark haired boy replied before returning into his deep sleep.

Author's note: I've managed to just get this finished for Wednesday; I was contemplating posting it on Saturday but I thought to break away from my schedule earlier would be poor punctuality indeed. I have to say reading the books a lot helped me remember that explanation about the ancient language (I wrote it by memory) but I apologise if there are any mistakes with that. Again thanks for reading and the next chapter shall be out on Saturday.


	10. Tutelage

Chapter nine – Tutelage

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

The hour was early when Aris woke. After the strange dream he had retained a semi-conscious state in which he flitted in and out of being awake and asleep making it difficult for him to rest properly. He stared out into the forest simply gazing into its fern coated depths whilst Arelía stretched as she woke beside her rider.

_Good morning Aris._

_Morning Arelía; did you sleep well?_

_I did thank you little one. I shan't ask you the same question for I already know the answer._

Aris continued staring into the trees, _Yes. _Turning his worried thoughts away he instead sat and observed the surroundings for a while, admiring the beauty of the rider's sanctuary.

_Someone approaches. _Arelía said getting up from the shelter and snaking her head round the edge to see whom it was that was coming. Eragon stood with his arms folded in evident annoyance outside; however, he did retain some of his politeness for he greeted the dragon and rider.

"Good morning Aris, Arelía. I take it you slept well?"

"That we did." Aris said, lying, "May I ask why you are here?"

"I am here to teach you, what else?"

The dark haired boy perked up with excitement, _No more waiting around being bored,_ He thought to himself, "Great! What will we be learning?"

Instead of answering the question directly Eragon instead skirted around the proposed topic, "A rider's training is a long and arduous process. It will be enjoyable I assure you and you will, eventually, become a rider in full and join our order; however, you will equally face trails not so enjoyable and ones that will push your physical and mental abilities to the limit. So, are you ready to begin?"

"Erm I suppose so…" Aris said with slight doubt and awe at the small speech the elder rider had just performed.

"Good; I knew that little impromptu speech would pay off. Shall we begin now then? If that is well with you and Arelía of course."

_We both believe that would be best. _Arelía said answering for the pair of them.

"Excellent. I note that you are both working together which is essential if you are to be rider and dragon; for without communicating you would be useless both in battle and in daily life you would struggle to cope. I'm sure you know this already though."

"In part; more tutelage would be welcome on such things. I'm sure you know what to teach us, after all you are the teacher, and it is not my place to say what is to be taught."

"You can ask for specific things if you want but in general you are correct. I thought we'd begin with some simple reading and writing exercises to get you up to scratch on those two things before moving onto the history of the riders, how does that sound?"

"Great!" The youth said with keenness in his tone.

"It is gratifying to know you are so keen to learn; this is a good start indeed." Eragon muttered into the air again, as if talking to some distant entity, before returning his attention to Arelía and her rider. "We shall have our first lesson outside; I have a table set up for you so if you would care to follow me Aris I shall instruct you in the ways of reading and writing in the runes of your human language. As for you Arelía I thought you may enjoy some time practicing flying with Saphira."

_I would love the opportunity to take to the skies; for that I thank you Ebrithil. See you later Aris._

_Bye! _He called mentally after her as the dragon wandered over to where Saphira was sat on the opposite side of the clearing in front of Eragon's home.

The pair of dragons took off as the two riders sat down to begin the day's study.

"I assume you know the basic runes of reading and writing; am I correct in assuming this?"

"You are; Finwë taught me their meanings on the journey here." Aris answered politely, for as Eragon was now his teacher the youth believed he should respect the elder rider as a teacher.

"Good." The brown haired elf said jovially and with a pleased look upon his visage, "That will save us some time… Hmm what to begin with."

Aris waited patiently whilst his new tutor decided upon which subject to choose for his student's studies. After a minute or so his elder had decided upon a choice for the day; one that Aris knew he would certainly enjoy. _Although I would enjoy anything more than being stuck down in the mines…_

_Do not worry Aris; that is in the past now. _Arelía said reassuring her rider.

_Yes I know but I can't help feeling that I shouldn't have left my family behind, I should be caring for them._

_That is the past like I said, there is nothing you can do to reverse your decision now little one._

_But if I'm a dragon rider surely… _A flash of inspiration came to him, _Surely our duty is to protect the innocent? I remember the tales of how the riders stopped slavery and saved the people all the time. If I am now one of those legends I can get my revenge upon General Adulphus!_

Worry now came into Arelía's mind causing the dragon to panic slightly, _Aris! Don't let revenge cloud your mind this early!_

The youth regressed slightly at the concern of his dragon, _You are right I suppose. But if-_

His mind flashed back to the vision that he had the night previous and the one before that, _If that was… Nah it can't have been._

_It can't have been what?_ Arelía enquired with great interest.

_Nothing. _The rider said dismissively causing his dragon to snort in annoyance.

_Be secretive then; I'm going to concentrate on flying now. _The dragon closed the link between them and instead went ahead flying far away from the sanctuary so Aris couldn't even contact her if she did have her mind open.

_Hmm, I wonder what's up with her? _ He thought to himself.

The dark haired boy was interrupted by Eragon who, he assumed, had now chosen something to do, "I have decided we shall start with some writing and reading, as I previously stated, then study some of the history of the riders; it's best to know what you are before you try to learn anything more. Let us begin then."

Firstly the elder rider instructed Aris on the runes of the human language, confirming that he knew them, before moving onto some basic reading in which the youth learned about the original purpose of the dragon riders. He only read and wrote slowly now but he knew speed would come with time and practice.

Eragon then went on to explain about how the riders were formed, when Queen Dellanir formed the pact with dragons after 'Du Fyrn Skulblaka' as the elder rider called it; although Aris did not understand the language that he spoke but he assumed it was the ancient language; also the rider said of the peace that came from one boy named Eragon and his dragon Bid'daum. Aris noted the elf seemed to take great pride in his namesake, as if he had retained that pride from when he had first heard of who he had been named after.

The youth soaked in the information, taking every ounce of detail into account when listening to the entrancing tale of how the riders were formed. Aris even contemplated writing it down but discarded the idea as his writing speed would never keep up with the pace at which Eragon was talking.

"Now onto the part which I'm sure you will be most interested in, the rider's abilities."

Aris perked up at the mention of this topic, he had always wanted to know the truth behind the tales of which he had heard many back home. Back then he had believed the stories for he didn't know any better, as he was a simple slave-boy, but now he was about to find out the reality.

"Firstly I have a question for you."

"Ask away." Aris said, prompting Eragon to continue.

"What do _you _know of the riders? I am curious as to your current knowledge on the subject."

"Well… I've heard that they have magical powers, as Finwë demonstrated to me, and that the dragons were also incredibly powerful, more so than a whole army. Erm… Also they stop slavery and save them from their rulers. That is all I know to be honest."

Eragon chuckled, "You are partially correct; although I can see that your knowledge of us is clouded and I am not surprised it is so. It has been many centuries since riders roamed your land. Yes, dragons are incredibly powerful. Yes, we can use magic, although I would rather that you hadn't discovered that but nothing can be done about that now. There is one thing that the riders had which mere mortals did not."

Aris was confused as to what Eragon was talking about until he contemplated the meaning of the last sentence,

_Mere mortals._

His mouth formed an 'o' shape in amazement at what the elder rider was proposing; then did he realise that he was an elder rider indeed, "Dragon riders are immortal?"

Eragon nodded.

The dark boy's head sunk in thought an acceptance; now did he realise that he would outlive his family, his friends and all other humans. To see them die before him… That would be a rather traumatising experience to say the least. _But that means you can see Elena more. _Came the thought again from the back of his head.

_Why do I keep on getting these strange thoughts which are not my own? It's as if there are two people inside my mind._

_You could say that. _A female voice said.

_Arelía! Did you say that?_

_Say what? _The silver scaled dragon enquired.

_About me wanting to see Elena?_

_No I did not Aris; why do you ask? _She said with concern.

_Oh… Never mind. _Aris began pondering what this weird entity could be but he could not decipher it or its purpose. Instead he returned his attention to Eragon's lesson.

"Is all well Aris? Your mind seemed to wander for a second there; what happened?"

He was reluctant to pursue the issue but he knew that Eragon was concerned and wished to know about the problem; therefore, the young boy said, "I've been having these strange voices in my head, coming from the back of my mind almost. I don't know who or what they are but Arelía says that it is not her."

Slight shock came across Eragon's face at the mention of this strange entity, "When did you start hearing this 'voice'?" He enquired.

"Before I became a rider."

"Hmm… I shall consult some books as to any other cases of this and try my best to help you Aris. This does seem a serious matter indeed. Anyway! Let is not disrupt our lesson, shall we continue?"

"Yes, I think that would be best."

So Eragon further instructed Aris on the history of the riders, speaking of the addition of humans to the rider's pact among many other things, until Aris' mind was sated for the day and they both decided it would be best to retire before he got a headache.

Returning to his room inside Eragon's abode the dark haired boy threw himself down on the bed and closed his eyes, simply relaxing after the long day whilst waiting for Arelía to return from her full-day flight.

She returned ten minutes after Aris had arrived, for he heard a great chorus outside as the two dragons landed in the clearing outside. Deciding that it would be rude to neglect his dragon the youth decided to go and greet her.

_Good afternoon Arelía. _He called just as he left the building and saw his dragon sitting peacefully outside, silver hide gleaming in the late afternoon light.

_Good afternoon to you too little one. How was your lesson?_

_It was good. _He replied, reluctant to talk about a certain aspect of it.

_That is good to hear. I thoroughly enjoyed flying with Saphira, she's a very good teacher._

_So is Eragon, _Aris admitted, _They both seem to have much experience in these things._

_Yes. That is good if you are being taught something is it not?_

The dark haired boy chuckled, _Well I suppose so; otherwise they wouldn't know much. Anyway, I'm tired and need some rest, do you mind if I go back to my room?_

_Not at all; I'll see you tomorrow Aris. _Arelía said before padding off to her small shelter round the side of the building. Just as the dark haired boy was about to go inside however he heard a voice calling him from behind, "Aris wait a second!" It was Eragon. Turning around he saw that there was a hooded figure standing next to him, they were definitely female, that Aris could tell, but he could not decipher whom was under the hood.

"There's someone here who wants to see you." The elder rider continued, struggling to supress a grin, "I think you know her."

The strange figure removed their hood to be revealed as none-other than Elena, causing Aris to exclaim, "Elena!" In a rather high pitched voice which resulted in everyone laughing.

"Yes Aris, it is I." She walked over to the boy so that they could talk in private, so, whispering, she said, "I wanted to apologise for what I did the other day, it was rash and I should've have done it."

"It's fine." Aris replied with understanding.

"Good, good. Well… I'd best be off now, see you around Aris."

"Wait."

"What is it?" The female youth enquired.

"I just wanted to say that, well… Could we still be friends? I don't want what happened to ruin our friendship."

"I don't know why I'd decline that offer. We can still be friends Aris, I was just slightly embarrassed that is all."

He laughed, "By slightly you mean very?"

"Yes." She admitted. "Anyway, see you around then."

"See you. If you're ever without anything to do you can stop by for a chat."

"I'd enjoy that!" She called back whilst walking away and back into the forest.

_Well that went well._

_Yes, I'm glad you're friends again. You two suit each other._

Aris sighed, _I meant in a friendship sense, not in a relationship sense. I just want to be friends for now._

_If you insist Aris. _Arelía replied chuckling.

The dark haired boy ignored the last comment and instead went and settled down in his bed, settling down for the night and thinking about all that had happened that day.

Author's note: Not much to say really except that I am going on holiday in a week or so; therefore, there will be no chapters whilst I am away (of course). To reply to the guest review the reason Eragon was rather stern is because it has been several hundred years and he has matured a lot over that time, with his role as head rider, and also he is unsure of Aris' power as of now and is being cautious – not treating him too friendly. Thanks for reading, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out soon.


	11. New Acquaintances

Chapter ten – New Acquaintances

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Aris did not sleep that night.

Instead he stared at the ceiling simply lying on his bed attempting to rest in some form for he knew he would have a busy day the following morning.

The dark haired boy considered what the voice could have been and where it had come from; _Maybe it's just my own mind contradicting itself. Or it's just a figment of my imagination…_

_I am real you know. _Came the voice again.

Aris ignored it instead returning his gaze to the sky above.

The hour was early when Arelía contacted Aris to say that she had woken; the dragon expressed concern for the fact that her rider had not slept, however the dark haired boy said that it was irrelevant and that he would have to manage without sleep. Therefore, when he went downstairs for breakfast he did not notice the foreign person sitting at the other end of the table. He only acknowledged their presence once Eragon had introduced them fully.

"Good morning Aris. How are you feeling?" The elder rider asked.

"Tired." The youth replied, focusing on steadying his hand from fatigue as he attempted to lift a bread bun.

"Hmm yes; can you try and get some sleep Aris? You can't be training without adequate rest as it takes concentration and energy." There seemed to be true concern in the man's voice which Aris thought strange for Eragon; therefore, the youth heeded the rider's advice.

"I shall try my best to if it benefits Arelía and our training, it suits me fine."

The brown haired rider lightened up slightly at the younger rider's acceptance, "That is gratifying to hear. Anyway I don't know if you have noticed our guest but I think you would like to get to know her."

Looking up tiredly Aris squinted at the person at the other end of the table whom he had yet to take notice of; the woman, for he could tell she was female. Dark red hair was tied in a neat ponytail and emphasised the deep blue hue of her eyes; the person seemed to be the age of twenty five or so but Aris knew that her looks were deceiving for riders could live for a long time. Although she looked to be elven in appearance the woman did not seem to be entirely of elfish heritage, due to her slight human traits. Also, when she proceeded to speak, Aris could immediately tell she was human, "Greetings Aris; Eragon has just been telling me about you and of your talents. You and your dragon seem promising."

_She seems nice. _Arelía said.

_Of course she does, everyone enjoys a few complements now and then. _The dark haired boy replied irritably.

"Greetings. Who are you?"

"Ah, sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I am Zaria and I am a dragon rider; my dragon being Shegroth. I am to be your teacher for your time as a training rider and shall instruct you in many things from the arcane arts to politics and ethics. After breakfast I was going to show you where you will be staying as a rider in training; that is in the rider's quarters of course."

"So I won't be staying in Eragon's house?" Aris asked drearily.

"No, it is not proper when training a rider for them to live with their teacher. You situation was… An exception."

"Oh okay…"

"Also," Zaria continued, "You shall have another rider training with you."

Slight worry came across the dark haired boy's visage, causing Arelía to worry also, "Who is it?" _I managed to hide my concerned voice rather well…_

"Don't worry, she doesn't bite." Zaria chuckled, "I don't think you know her; I'm sure you can introduce yourselves later though as for now I'll show you around, is that okay?"

"Mm-hm."

"Excellent," The woman rubbed her hands together in anticipation, "If all is well with you Ebrithil can we be off now?"

"That you can Zaria; see you around."

Taking the lead Zaria headed out of the door and began walking through the forest towards, what Aris assumed was, the quarters for the young riders. Arelía followed the pair from the sky though; keen to practice her new found love for flying.

"What did you call Eragon back there?" Aris asked after they had been walking for a fair while.

"Ebrithil?" Aris nodded, "It means master."

"So Eragon was your teacher?"

Zaria nodded this time, "Indeed he was, and a very good one may I say. When I first became bonded with my dragon I was very unsure of myself and could not control my power very well; Eragon decided to take me on as his pupil and instructed me in the ways of the riders, much more in depth than my previous teacher."

"You know Eragon well then?" The dark haired boy enquired.

The female rider laughed in response, "You are full of questions, just like he said." The youth blushed slightly in response to the comment, "To answer your question yes, I do know him well as I was his pupil after all."

"Okay." The two of them fell into silence again until a small elongated building appeared in the forest suddenly before them; this, Aris assumed, was where he would be living from now on. It appeared to be a sort of bunk-house but was far more elegant than the ones that resided in his home town for amazing carvings adorned the walls, as they did in most houses at sanctuary that he had seen, and stood several stories tall reaching into the branches of the trees – he even thought he saw several platforms stretching out from the top floor into the canopy although Aris could not be sure.

"This is where you will be living from now on. I assume it will be satisfactory?"

"Of course! Yes! It's far better than anything I'm used to."

"Good," The next thing she whispered to him, "It's just sometimes we get a few elven and human nobles coming here, along with high ranking dwarves, who often complain that it hasn't got something or it isn't made out of stone. That sort of thing."

Aris chuckled, imagining what his fellow riders would be like. _I hope they're friendly. _He thought, Arelía taking note of his inferred message.

_I'm sure they will be Aris don't worry. If you respect them they will respect you._

_I'll try my best, for you. _He replied; his dragon humming contentedly.

"Shall we go in and meet your new partner?"

"Erm, okay." The youth said nervously, unsure as to whom this person would be.

Crossing the threshold Zaria held open the large front door for Aris to enter through; many rooms could be seen branching off the main corridor which ran the length of the building. To his left and right ran small stairways up to the second floor which was defined by two balconies running parallel above his head; more rooms could be seen upstairs above his head. Several people walked in and out of the various rooms of the hall, Aris assumed they were all riders, but no dragons could be seen.

"Where do the dragons stay?"

"They stay up on the mountain in their own abodes or sleep outside of here, if they so wish. There is not enough room inside many of the buildings to accommodate dragons; those who wish to have their partners live with them can so request when they become a rider in full as trainees cannot own their own house in sanctuary. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes it does."

"Very well, let us meet your fellow student; ah here she is now."

Turning his gaze to where Zaria was looking Aris noticed a rather tall female walking towards them. They had deep blonde which fell to the crook of their back and seemed to swirl around their head dramatically, although Aris thought that was just the breeze blowing in from the open door. She had slightly pale skin along with deep green eyes. However, she did not have angled features so Aris assumed she was human; she wore a light tunic also.

"Greetings Zaria, Aris. I am Luthíen; a pleasure to meet you."

"Greetings to you too Luthíen," Aris replied, attempting to retain the nervousness in his voice for, as he had done little socialising in his time, he always had a fear of embarrassing himself when he met a new person – especially after he met Elena.

"It is good to see you and your dragon are getting on well after the bond; I assume you have been told that lessons shall begin soon?" Zaria enquired.

"That I have."

"Are you ready to begin them?"

"That I, and my dragon, am."

"That is most excellent. Shall we start now then?"

"Sure." The light haired female replied smiling cheerfully at both Zaria and Aris.

"Okay, just let me organise someone to drop of Aris' things in his room here and then we can be off. Shall I show you where you will be staying now Aris?"

"That sounds good to me."

"Follow me then." Zaria took the lead leaving Luthíen and Aris to talk to each other; Aris thought the elder rider had done it deliberately to make him talk to his fellow pupil although the dark haired boy could not be sure.

"So Aris; where are you from?"

"Erm, a town to the east."

"Ooh, what was it like?" Luthíen seemed to take great interest in Aris' past which unnerved the boy slightly.

"I don't want to talk about it." He replied, memories of his father fading into his mind. One strange memory came to him though, one of a grand building in what he thought was his home town and he was standing inside it looking out of the window towards a large group of people. However, his mind deemed it irrelevant and discarded the memory as soon as Aris had looked at it.

"Oh. That is fine then." The girl replied with slight disappointment, "Do you want me to tell you where I came from?"

_This girl is even more chatty than Elena. _Aris said to Arelía.

_Don't be too mean Aris, although I can see what you mean… Talk to her, she seems nice. After all you're going to be with her for the next twenty or more years._

_What? _Aris replied in shock.

_Didn't you know that a rider's training can go on for decades?_

_Erm no? No-one told me at least. _The youth said with slight annoyance.

_Well you do. Now talk to her! She's starting to look at you._

_Oh okay. _Aris said with embarrassment.

"If you want."

Luthíen smiled at the prospect of further conversation, "Well I come from Belatona; my father was the advisor to the lord of the city there and I grew up in the Lord's residence so this is sort of a step down from that but it's still nice, being away from home and in the forest is rather relaxing to tell you the truth."

"Yes, I find that too. It's far easier to concentrate on things when it's nice and peaceful, like it is if you sit out in the forest and find a nice clearing."

"Exactly! Especially since I enjoy reading so much. Do you read at all?"

"I've done a bit; only just started really but I am keen to learn more."

The girl seemed to perk up at the mention of possible teaching, "Well I'd love to help you appreciate books like I do; they can make me laugh, cry and relive memories that are now past."

"Quite the young scholar aren't you?" Zaria called back to the young rider.

"Hehe I suppose." Luthíen replied, then returning to her conversation with Aris.

"So, what do you say?"

"I'd really enjoy that. Once I've settled in I suppose we can organise a time to do that."

"Great." She replied with a broad smile on her face.

"We're here."

A small room lay before him; it was fitted with a mediocrely sized desk and a bed against one wall. The centre had enough room for receiving guests, about four to be precise, and at the back a door led into what looked to be some sort of washroom with a door next to the desk leading out to a balcony.

"This is wonderful!" Aris said, jumping onto the bed to test it out, "I love it. I can't thank you enough."

Zaria chuckled, "Don't be thanking me, thank Eragon for requesting this room for you. It is one of the few that has a balcony, as there are not many rooms on the third floor overlooking the forest."

Only then did Aris realised that his conversation with Luthíen had distracted him so much that he had not even realised they had gone upstairs, "I still wanted to say thank you for this," He continued, "And you say my things will be brought here?"

"Yes, yes. Eragon has sent you over some clothes, books and writing utensils. Be aware though that you will have to wash your own clothes, there is the river which I shall show you afterwards for that, and you only have so many sets so don't get them dirty! The wardrobe over there." Zaria pointed to a strange storage cabinet which Aris did not recognise fully although he had seen something like that before, "Can be used to store your clothes and things. That's all I think… Shall we start the lesson now?"

"We shall." Both Aris and his light haired partner said in synchronisation.

"Let us be off then." Zaria continued, leading the way out of the building.

_I have just met with my new tutor also, Shegroth. He seems to be a good dragon; we're going off flying soon though so I won't see you for a while. I was just going to say good bye for now._

_Bye Arelía, be careful would you?_

_That I shall little one. _Arelía answered, her presence slowly dwindling to Aris until he could not sense her again.

_Oh well. I'd best get myself acquainted then._

Author's note: Thanks for reading again everyone. And just a note, this will (most likely) be my last chapter for over a week so don't expect anything until the 11th of August. Unless I can write a chapter for Friday and post it (which I may well do) there will be no Distant Truths for a while. But again, thanks for reading, R&Rs are very much welcome and the next chapter shall be out whenever I post it :p


	12. Swordplay

Chapter eleven – Swordplay

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

_Arise Aris, it is time to wake._

_Huh?_

A mental sigh came through, _It's time to get up silly, now come on. You're going to be late for your lesson._

_Oh right! _The dark haired boy quickly arose and threw his clothes on hastily before heading out to meet Zaria and Luthíen for the day's lesson.

It had been several months since the first proper lesson as a dragon rider and since Aris had been almost constantly studying; this was partially due to the fact Zaria set him a lot of extra reading to catch up with Luthíen's standard although some of it was down to Zaria giving a lot of extra work anyway. Whilst her rider studied however Arelía took the time to practice what she had learnt with Shegroth, spending much of her time in the air. Because of this the training was becoming very taxing for Aris, although he was used to working long hours in the mines it was something very different to the norm. Arelía reassured him that it would just take some time to adapt though Aris was not certain of this fact but he remained optimistic, partially due to his dragon's beliefs influencing his own.

He had also met many new riders, most of whom were rather friendly whilst some seemed slightly hostile towards both him and Arelía, perhaps because they had heard of his background. On the third day a dwarf rider called Durum introduced himself to Aris which shocked the dark haired boy slightly for he had never met a dwarf, he hadn't even really heard of them until he met one. Despite his doubts the small man was rather jovial and friendly so quickly befriended Aris; the two of them often chatting in the common room that lined the inside of the rider's quarters late at night.

One person who the youth had seen little of was Elena, which concerned him slightly as he assumed that she too lived where he did. Occasionally Aris thought he caught a fleeting glimpse of her walking past though he could not be certain, nor could Arelía, who sometimes watched what he was doing; with her enhanced sight determine whom it was.

Even with his past still troubling him Aris was enjoying his freedom, even though he remembered his family he no longer dwelled on it as Arelía had advised him to. The two of them strengthened their bond like this also, proving to Aris that dragon and rider's feelings did truly influence one another's – for Zaria had said this in one of the lessons although he did not believe her at first. Both rider and dragon shared experiences and memories so when they weren't occupied they could both recite, with ease, what each of them had done that day.

Heading out through the main entrance of the rider's quarters Aris knew that Arelía was waiting for him outside; she was sat resting her head in her paws getting some rest before the long day. _Are you ready to go Aris?_

_Yes, I'll eat breakfast on the way. _The dark haired boy replied getting some food that he had taken from his room out of his pocket wolfing it down hungrily whilst walking towards the specified meeting place for today's exercise as although Arelía was large enough to ride now Aris had not practiced yet. _I wonder what we'll be learning today._

_I know that I am learning about some dragon culture, although I'm sure you knew that already._

_I did. _

_I haven't seen much of Elena at all, have you seen her around?_

_Nope. Why do you ask Aris? Feeling left out now that you aren't seeing her much?_

_Shut it. _He said, thumping Arelía who started laughing at his annoyance.

_Aris and Elena sitting in a nest, K I_

_I said be quiet! _

_Sorry, I was only teasing you Aris._

_It's okay, I know you are it's just… I get a bit touchy at times._

_I can understand little one._

_Mm-hm… How did you come up with that tune anyway?_

_I heard one of the human riders teasing one another with it; you know it's rather interesting just sitting and listening to the sounds of the forest, all be it rather unnatural ones._

_Okay._

The two of them chatted generally about anything that came to their minds until they reached their destination, the small clearing in which the pair normally had their lessons. Zaria and Luthíen were already waiting for him, the former with their arms crossed in impatience.

"Where have you been Aris? We've been waiting."

"Sorry master but I overslept."

"Very well although make sure not to do so tomorrow. Anyway, onto less serious matters. Today's lesson shall be slightly different to what both of you new riders have been taught the past few weeks; instead of learning about literature we shall instead cross blades. Even though it is not an essential skill it is one that needs refining for times of war, as they will inevitably rise. I assume neither of you have practiced sword fighting before?" Both Luthíen and Aris shook their heads, "Excellent! It shall be a new experience for you both then. Let us begin."

The elder rider picked up two swords from behind her on the ground and threw them to Aris and Luthíen respectively. "Let's start with the basics." Zaria began explaining about various basic manoeuvres when fighting an opponent one on one. Part way through the description Arelía interrupted distracting Aris.

_I'm going off for today's lesson, see you later._

_Okay. _The dark haired boy replied, returning his attention to the matter at hand.

Shegroth, who was grey, could be heard lifting his huge reptilian body off the ground behind Aris with large thuds of his wings sending waves of air crashing into the ground. Two lighter sounds were heard afterwards as Arelía and Luthíen's dragon – Soreth whose hide was a forest green – took to the skies after their teacher.

"Now practice swinging first to get used to the balance of the sword as I will keep these aside for both of you so that the two of you can become practiced with them. The reason they are wooden is simply for training's sake, if not then you could lose limbs which would hardly be good now would it?" Luthíen shook her head in slight fear at the thought of losing an arm, "No. It would not. The balance of these swords is also different to a real one but until you use a metal sword there is nothing I can do about that; shall we begin then?"

"Yes; I'm keen to get started." Aris answered.

"It is good to see some students are eager to begin," Zaria said sending a slightly accusing gaze at Luthíen who was shaking slightly with worry.

_Go easy on her Aris, she looks worried, reassure her._ Came Arelía's voice into his mind.

_Okay._

"Don't worry Luthíen; I won't try to hurt you everything's going to be okay."

"Good." The light haired female said before going into a ready stance.

Aris had seen enough of the mine guards sparring and other guards fighting to know how to hold and swing a sword. However, he was no expert and have never practiced himself before so he was uncertain to whether he could beat Luthíen although she did look rather frightened – no petrified was a better word to describe her state.

"Begin!" Zaria barked, initiating the duel.

Neither rider was sure what to do so they simply circled each other for a while waiting for one of them to strike. Aris decided to break the inferred truce between both him and Luthíen and swung at her left shoulder, slowing his slice down as it neared her body. The light haired human surprised him then when she whipped her sword up to meet his and began to attack fiercely. The dark haired boy only managed to block two of the attacks however before being knocked down to the ground and sent sprawling in the mud by Luthíen's blade.

"An excellent display of swordsman ship; now, again!"

Aris got up wearily and prepared himself this time, knowing that his opponent was very skilled. _If only I can exploit a weakness. Hmm…_

Although he thought it possible he could see none, much to his demise; his fellow rider's gaze was stern and focused on only one task – fighting.

_I wonder why she was so worried then?_

_Perhaps because, like you, of something that happened to her in her past. _Arelía stated whilst landing from the short flight that she, and the two other dragons, had taken to their location for that day's lesson.

_I suppose so. _Just as he finished talking to his silver scaled companion Luthíen was charging at him, sword raised high and battle cry coming from her mouth, and brought her weapon round at his left side. However, she feinted at the last second and made Aris' block obsolete as she swung round and smote him in the right flank sending him flying to the ground again.

"Again!" Their tutor shouted.

_I don't know how much more I can take of this…_

As the morning wore on Aris became more and more bruised and beaten as he was smote various times on differing parts of his body by Luthíen and her wooden sword. After a particularly fierce battle, where the dark haired boy had even managed to get a hit on his sparring partner, he collapsed to the ground fatigued when the shout of "Again!" Came once more.

Annoyance and anger built up inside of his body, all of the hate that had come from General Adulphus, the death of his father, the annoyance of being beaten so many times as he had been back in the mines. All of these emotions spilled out into one short sentence of unbidden words, hidden at the back of his mind.

_Thrysta du delois!_

The earth began shaking around him and suddenly mounds of dirt burst out from underneath the turfed ground and went flying towards Luthíen, who dived out of the way in sheer terror at the situation. Suddenly everything stopped at the call of someone from behind him, all of the earth colliding with an invisible force field in front of Luthíen before falling slowly to the ground.

Turning around Aris saw that Eragon stood behind him, arms raised in the air as if performing some invisible action. "Eragon!" The youth called. The elder rider ignored him and instead walked over to check on Luthíen who was lying, unconscious, on the trodden ground. He inspected her prone form before saying in a resigned tone to Zaria, "She is okay." Before walking over to Aris.

"Come with me." The tone of his voice was something completely different to the norm; it had a deadly, commanding tone to it, forcing anyone who listened to obey. And so Aris followed the brown haired man to a small enclose clearing where, he assumed, they could talk in private.

_Aris…_

_Arelía don't worry, I'm sure everything will be alright._

Eragon turned to face the young rider now and Aris had been right, there was a serious look upon his visage anger almost brimming over into his stance. "What did you do?"

"I don't know…" Aris said with slight dread, unsure of what had just happened and the punishments that would ensure. Would they send him back to his homeland?

"Well it seems to me you used magic to nearly kill poor Luthíen back there, was it deliberate?"

"Of course not! Why would I kill her?"

"I do not know that. But I want to know whether you used magic deliberately, which it seems not to be. This complicates matters…"

"Why? Surely using magic is a good thing?"

Eragon laughed harshly in slight awe at the situation, "To quote my tutor, 'magic is not something to be used freely, it can be very dangerous if used incorrectly!' or words to that effect. This certainly changes things…"

"How so?" Aris enquired curiously.

"Well to put it bluntly you're going to have to learn how to use magic."

Aris and Arelía both gasped simultaneously in shock at the prospect.

"If you'll come with me I think we can start some tutelage now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, now follow me; we have work to do." Eragon said striding off back through the forest towards where he had been sparring, Aris trailing behind thoughts racing at the prospects ahead…

Author's note: Hello once again readers! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, apparently I have just got back from holiday (I think .-.) but I did write this chapter before I went away. Next chapter out on Wednesday. Hope you enjoyed, don't forget to rate and review and that's pretty much it. Thanks for reading.

P.s. the reason this is coming out on Sunday instead of Saturday is because I didn't quite realise until yesterday that I was only regaining access to my computer on the Sunday so sorry for the late post but I hope you still enjoyed the chapter! Even if it was slightly delayed :p


	13. Mind Over Matter

Chapter twelve – Mind over Matter

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Trotting behind Eragon Aris followed the elder rider through the forest back towards, what the dark haired rider assumed, was Eragon's house although he could not be sure at all as even though he had been at the rider's home for several months now the different routes through the forest were still incredibly convoluted to the youth.

It was only a short walk but when it came to an end the two of them stood in yet another clearing which was a fair way from the rest of the built up area of the sanctuary; around the edge of the area stood great trees which seemed to lean in over them and gave a domed appearance to the place. The trunks were incredibly thick and joined in several places, like stalagmites and stalactites in a cave, with one of the only entrances being the one that Eragon had shown him through.

The elder rider muttered a few words in, what Aris assumed, was the ancient language and a small popping sound came from across the clearing. Following the trail of the sound, that seemed to be clearer to Aris than it would have been some time ago, the dark haired youth saw that a strange blue aura hung over the entrance. When he looked at Eragon in order to ask what the peculiar thing was the rider answered before Aris could even ask.

"It is a force field, to stop anyone disturbing the lesson. I advise you contact Arelía for you shall be late back tonight."

"Arelía! I completely forgot about her…"

"Yes, and do not make that mistake again. She should have sensed the surge in power though… Hmm…" The latter part of the sentence Eragon muttered to himself leaving Aris pondering what it was that was so strange, "Anyway! Make sure that you and Arelía know what each other are doing in the future, as I have already told you I'm sure it is the key part of being dragon and rider."

"Yes Ebrithil."

The brown haired rider chuckled, "A rather apt term, did Zaria teach you that one?"

Aris nodded in slight embarrassment. "I thought as much, now contact your dragon; I'm sure she's concerned about you."

Doing as Eragon instructed Aris closed his eyes and focused on making a link with his silver scaled dragon, focusing on first following the link to her mind then sending a message, _Arelía, sorry I did not tell you what was going on bu-_

_Aris! Oh I was so worried. For some reason I couldn't get through to you, as your mind was closed off. I thought that was not like you to do such a thing, considering you haven't even been taught that yet, what happened?_

Her rider spoke of how he and Luthíen had been sparring for a while then he had gotten rather infuriated and said those strange words, _They must be from the ancient language! _Aris stated in a moment of realisation.

_Indeed they must, what were they again?_

_Thrysta du delois. _The ground shifted slightly in response.

_Yes, _Arelía replied, _They do seem to hold a certain power… This is strange. I shall let you continue with Eragon as I'm sure he has some important things to say; just know that I will be listening little one._

_Of course Arelía. _Aris broke contact with Arelía, whom he could feel at the back of his mind whilst she executed a rather difficult backflip in the air.

"Have you explained the situation to her?" Eragon enquired, his tone now lighter.

"Yes, yes. She understands."

"Mm-hm; well I have a fair amount to teach you today to ensure you are safe whilst using magic. So, shall we begin?" The question was a rhetorical but despite this Aris still nodded in agreement, "Okay, I have a fair amount of explaining to do to you so take a seat."

The youth sat down on the smooth grassy ground, as there were no logs or branches to perch on, and crossed his legs sitting in front of Eragon who remained standing, which Aris decided not to question, and instead sat back and listened to the mesmerising voice of the head rider.

"I shall assume that you know the basics of magic, how it is controlled – by the ancient language – and how it came to be. However, you will not know how to use magic properly and how to control it, along with the subtleties of the art; as it is more an art than a practical application, although it can be used to great effect in battle. Now, how is the amount of energy put into a magic spell determined?"

"Erm… I'm not really sure."

"It is determined by the actual energy the process of the spell would take," Eragon continued unhindered, "Would you be able to throw a stone with magic with ease? And if so how effective would it be?"

"Well, it depends on the size of the stone."

Eragon did not laugh, instead he gave the boy a stern gaze, "A stone the size of my fist."

_I wonder why he's become so serious all of a sudden?_

_Do not anger him Aris, go along with what he wants, I'm sure this is all part of learning how to use magic – as it will be a valuable ally in the future._

"Not very much, and it could be very effective if it was thrown fast enough."

Eragon's gaze lost some of its hardness, "Good, that is correct."

_Well done Aris. _Arelía whispered mentally.

"Now onto the next question!"

The quizzing seemed to go on for hours, most likely because it did go on for hours as Aris noted that the sun was slowly nearing the horizon by the time the elder rider's questions were running dry. Much to the youth's surprise Eragon continued until night was creeping over the sanctuary before the last question was asked, and answered with uncertainty by a weary Aris.

"You have done well, you now have a basic knowledge of magic and its various uses; tomorrow we shall start applying it." Aris perked up at the mention of practical magic, "But until then you should rest, meet up with Luthíen and apologise and go and have a relax as you have earned it Aris."

"Thank you Ebrithil."

Just as the dark haired boy was about to leave Eragon called, "Wait a minute Aris."

Turning round in slight confusion Aris looked at Eragon with a curious gaze, "What is it?"

"I want to apologise for all of the stress that you have been put through since arriving here; what with your previous life being cast away and this new one created. I wish you the best of luck and also beware of those who seek to infuriate you, the best thing to do with them is to ignore them. You will know what that means once the time comes."

"Oh… Thank you, I shall take your advice." Aris replied, bowing his head slightly in thanks before departing through the gap in the trees, which Eragon had removed the force field away from.

As the youth left a small figure came out from within the depths of the forest behind the strangely shaped clearing and began to talk to Eragon, although Aris was too concerned about getting back to have a relax than look to see whom it was that the elder rider was conferring with…

Entering the common room of the rider's hall Aris quickly spotted Durum, who was leaning back in a rather large armchair chatting to someone whose face was hidden as they were sat facing away from Aris' field of view. The dwarf must have noticed Aris out of the corner of his eye due to the fact he waved a hand in greeting and indicated for the dark haired boy to come and join him in relaxing near the fire, which was lit just behind them in a small alcove.

"Aris!" Durum said jovially, "Good to see you my friend, where have you been? I have been waiting for you to return."

"I was having a lesson which went on for longer than expected, sorry for my late return."

"All is well with me, I was merely curious. Do tell me, how is poor Luthíen? I have just heard she has come back rather shocked from today's lesson."

_Careful Aris, do not say that which you wish to not be repeated._

_I shall not Arelía. _Aris reassured his dragon.

"I'm not sure, I went off with Eragon for most of the day. I'll have to ask her when I next see her."

"Could you? I am interested to know." Durum continued, swirling the glass that he held in his hand and admiring the golden mead within, "Ah yes I forgot to introduce whom it was that I was talking to. Aris, this is Elena."

"Wait Elena?!" His question was answered when the figure which he couldn't see before turned to face him and it was none other than Elena, or a rather subdued Elena it seemed as she smiled nervously in greeting.

"Hello Aris."

"Hi, erm how have things been?"

"Fine thank you for asking. I have just been away for a few days visiting someone and as I returned I met Durum walking through the entryway so we decided to have a chat, as he said he knew you."

"So that is why you seemed so interested to talk to me!" A booming laugh emanated through the room from the rather small dwarf, "So you did not want to hear my various stories? I thought as much."

Elena chuckled, albeit with slight withdrawal, "No, no. I am still intrigued by your stories, especially those of dwarfish politics. But yes, I was looking for Aris, although not directly."

"Why were you looking for me? To tell me that you'd been away without mentioning it? Or the fact I haven't seen you in ages?"

Elena sighed and whispered, "I knew you'd say that…"

Durum intervened clearing intrigued at how Aris was treating his 'friend' "So you two know each other well then?" He nudged Aris with an exaggerated wink, "Get in there mate, you've done well with this one."

"Durum, you're not helping."

"Oh sorry." The dwarf replied, slightly abashed at the retort from Aris.

"So, why haven't you told me where you've gone then?" The youth persisted.

"Do you have some vested interest in everything I do? Hmm?" Elena retorted.

"No, I was merely wondering where you have been these past, I don't know… two months?"

"Like I said, I have been away for a few days and before that I was busy with studying and such things; there, satisfied?"

"Not entirely."

As the brown haired girl was about to continue her side of the argument Durum cut in, "Not to try and be a white knight or anything but surely you two have nothing to quarrel about? It's not like it's the end of the world… Or… Ahha!"

"What?" The two humans said at the same time causing Durum to retreat into his chair slightly.

"Well… Erm… I was going to ask if… Something had happened between the two of you?"

"NO!" The pair said in synch again.

"I'll take that as a yes." The dwarf said, now regaining his composure and grinning widely, "Now if you'll excuse me, there is a certain Urgal whom I wish to meet with, we have some business matters to settle." With that the small man got up from the armchair and, taking his drink with him, tottered off to find this mysterious Urgal – which Aris was unaware existed for he had never heard of the species before.

"Now we're rid of him there's some things I want to ask YOU Aris." Elena surprised the youth by turning him towards her and guiding them off to an enclosed corner of the common room, where they would be difficult to spot.

"What do you want to ask me then oh great and powerful rider?" Aris said with evident sarcasm.

"Shut up. What did you do to Luthíen? I've never seen Eragon in such a stir before, it's like the world is about to end."

"Well I was sparring against her and I got annoyed…"

"Yes?" Elena continued, pressing for answers.

"And it felt like a power was building up inside me with my anger and then…"

"It all burst out and caused havoc?" The brown haired girl finished.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Coincidence. I'm also curious as to what you said when this 'power' came out of you, what did you say perchance?"

"_Thrysta du delois_." The ground shuddered slightly in response.

"Interesting, the effect must have been rather severe to shock Luthíen so." She muttered to herself. "What exactly happened?"

"Well I said those words and the earth around me rose and started flying towards Luthíen, only to be stopped by Eragon who seemed to stop the dirt in mid-air."

"Wow… The power that that spell contained, I've never known anyone cast such a powerful spell as their first… I don't know whether to be impressed or shocked."

"Neither do I…"

"I suppose we've cleared up things a fair bit; I'll be off now. See you around Aris."

"Okay then. Bye."

Elena turned and started leaving with a slight look of disappointment on her face.

_Don't let her leave like that Aris, she's clearly a bit upset. Talk to her._

_You always say to talk to her. _Aris stated with a slightly angered tone to his voice.

_I know, but you should listen to me more little one. I speak more sense than you know._

The young rider sighed, _Very well then…_

"Elena wait. I wanted to say something."

"What is it?"

"Erm…"

"Well? Were-cat got your tongue?"

_Hehe, that's a good one Aris. _Arelía commented, laughing at the jest.

_Quiet, I'm trying to think of something._

He stood there for a minute thinking of what to say until he blurted out, "Want to meet up and go out sometime?"

Elena looked at the youth in slight shock, "I'm not so sure about that Aris; remember what happened last time?"

"Yes, but… Never mind you're right. It was a stupid idea."

"No, you know what I would like to go out with you some time Aris. How about we go out for a walk tomorrow say? We could catch up. As long as you aren't too stubborn of course."

"If you insist." He replied with a smile.

"Good, see you tomorrow then." With that she left, walking off down the common room and out of Aris' line of sight.

_That was… Unorthodox to say the least but well done. Your confidence has grown much, talking to Luthíen and Durum has helped with that I'm sure. I'll speak to you later but for now I'm going for a flight, see you little one._

_Good bye, my dragon._

Author's note: Well, well. Aris and Elena are becoming more friendly… Something must be done about this! Don't worry, they shall continue to debate further but I can't help it if they become friends; I am merely the author and am but the conduit for this story. Thanks for reading and the next chapter shall be out soon.


	14. The Cult

Chapter thirteen – The Cult

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Arelía sighed, _You aren't thinking of going out dressed like that are you? _She looked at her rider with a critical eye.

_What?_

The dragon sniffed, _It's not exactly appropriate for taking a lady out._

Aris gave her a scowl, _How do _you _know so much about how to dress then? You're a dragon for Morr's sake._

_Who is Morr?_

_Oh… He's just a god we worship._

Again his dragon looked at the dark haired boy curiously, _What's a God?_

Aris turned to her with shock upon his visage, _You don't know what a God is! Arelía! I thought you knew, well… Everything…_

The silver scaled dragon laughed bitterly, _Not quite little one. I have not grasped fully all these human concepts as of yet._

_So you're telling me, you know how to dress to impress a girl._

_You fancy. _Arelía interjected.

Aris ignored the comment, _But you don't know what a God is?_

_No. _She replied bluntly.

_It's sort of a being with great power over us who we worship; they return this favour by giving us prosperity or wealth, or hope… We put our faith in that god and in turn he helps us basically._

_So what you're saying is there's a greater power than a dragon? _Arelía scoffed.

_In theory, yes._

_Pah. Rubbish. I don't believe in these god things you speak of; oh and you may want to change that tunic, you've been wearing it all day and it's a bit smelly._

Again Aris sighed with a slight laugh, _You never cease to amaze me, always changing the subject at the most inappropriate time. However, I suppose you're right, we can forget about religion now, for the moment I need to focus on this._

_You mean your date. _The silver scaled beast answered slyly.

_No! We're just having a friendly chat. _The youth reassured himself, confident that Elena would not surprise him again, and he hoped that she did not for he – being someone who had lived a fairly event-free life – was not one who enjoy great change. Still now he was unsure of himself after becoming a rider, even though it had been several months since he had become bonded with Arelía.

_I become closer to her every day… It's strange how the world works… _Aris thought to himself aside from Arelía, who was currently distracted with sorting out his attire for him, as he had never had to decide upon what to wear to go out for he had been but a slave until not so long ago.

After observing her rider with the same critical eye for several minutes Arelía stood back and admired her work, _Excellent! At least you appear presentable now. Oh look, here she comes! And her dragon is with her too! I've been waiting to meet her dragon, I wonder what she's like._

Aris chuckled and left Arelía to go and meet up with the dragon whilst he greeted Elena, the person whom he was more concerned about at the moment, "Elena, hello." As she came out of the dark Aris stood in amazement at how she looked.

It was quite obvious she had brushed and combed her hair so it had a magical, almost glowing, appearance when he gazed upon it – which the youth was rather concerned about – the teenage girl had also donned a deep green tunic fringed with red and some light walking shoes. Overall Aris found her appearance striking.

"Oh hello Aris, are you okay? You seem to be in shock." The girl replied with slight concern.

"A-ba-ba-ba-ba-whaa?"

Elena laughed, "What is wrong Aris? Are you some sort of sheep with all that baaing?"

"Oh… Erm… No. I just thought you look quite nice that's all."

_Dammit Aris why did you blurt that out?_

_I don't know little one, just relax. If you get all concerned that will carry across to Elena._

She surprised Aris by walking up to him and giving the youth a large hug, "Thank you. You're too kind Aris."

_Help me Arelía! She's trying to crush me!_

_Haha! Aris, it's a friendly gesture she's not trying to kill you; oh dear, you are very experienced with relationships aren't you?_

_What gave you that impression, hmm?_

The silver scaled dragon giggled, _Nothing._

"I forgot to introduce my dragon, Aris, Arelía meet Heleth."

_Greetings human and Argetskular. _A rather large crimson scaled dragon walked out from among the darkness that was clustered around the tree bases. The being was around twice the size of Arelía, although not as large as the elder dragons Aris assumed.

_Well met Heleth. _Arelía replied for the pair of them.

_It is good to meet you both, Elena talks much about the pair of you._

_I thought as much, _The silver scaled dragon replied with a small grin and a glance at Aris who ignored his dragon's gaze.

"Anyway, we have remained idle far too long! Shall we head off now Aris?"

"Erm, if you want I suppose…" The youth said nervously, scratching the nape of his neck.

"Good, come one then. Heleth, do you want to go and fly with Arelía?"

_It would be my pleasure to converse with her; that is you Arelía. Let us take to the sky. _The large red being jumped with powerful thighs into the air whilst her wings snapped outwards to catch the wind and propel herself into the heavens above; the smaller, silver scaled, dragon quickly followed suit, her small wings pumping hard to keep up with the strokes of the much larger dragon.

"Aris, keep up." Elena was already several strides ahead of Aris and was slowly working further forwards, forcing Aris to jog to catch up with her.

"Give me a second." The dark haired boy replied, raising his hand to get the female to wait. She paused for a second to allow Aris to jog to catch up. Once the two were walking in synch only then did they start talking to each other.

"Nice night today eh Aris?"

"Yeh, I suppose it is."

"I always like going out late on," The brown haired female admitted, "The air always feels fresh and alive, it's refreshing after a hard day."

"Mm-hm."

"And when it's a clear night like this; I do think the world is truly a beautiful place."

"Yes I agree."

Elena looked at him queerly and smirked, "You do agree do you? I never thought of you as someone who appreciated the beauty of the earth."

Aris blushed slightly, "Well erm…"

_Just go along with it Aris._

_Okay Arelía._

"Yes, I love walking out; I do agree it is refreshing with the night air."

"Haha, it's nice to know we share some of the same interests. Once you've done some more training I'm sure you'll be taught about the importance of listening to the forest, then you will fully appreciate the magnificence of this forest."

"I look forward to those lessons then." Aris replied with enthusiasm.

"I'm sure you will; if you follow me I'll show you something that you probably won't have had access to before."

"Okay…" The dark haired boy answered with slight curiosity, wondering what Elena was going to show him or if it was some sort of trick.

"Come on Aris, take my hand so you don't get lost."

Aris nervously put his palm in hers, relaxing in her warm grip, _This is quite nice actually… Well that's embarrassing._

_Oh Aris, don't worry it's just a natural feeling of bonding. Once you've overcome it you will get used to it._

_Yes but somehow I doubt Elena will let me touch her hand anytime soon in the future. _The young rider retorted bitterly.

_You can never tell how life will play out little one, perhaps in six months, or even a year you two could be very close or very distant._

_Someone's the wise one today aren't they?_

_Not really, I'm just speaking my mind on what I think about you and her. That is, that you would suit each other._

Aris glanced into the sky to check if Arelía and Heleth were still circling above, then ahead to try and get a glance at where Elena was taking him.

_Arelía, are you trying to pair up me and Elena?_

The dark haired boy felt guilt and embarrassment seep across their mind link, _Well… Erm… A bit I suppose…_

_Can you stop please? I really don't like being forced into a relationship especially since it is a field where I am not really experience._

Arelía sighed in evident disappointment, _If you insist… I-I just think that you two suit each other so much and I really think you should try and be together…_

_Don't get upset! I'm sorry I got angry at you… I shouldn't have… Tell you what, from now on, just for you, I'll make sure to try and stay with Elena and not accept anyone else okay?_

The silver dragon sniffled, _Okay… Thank you Aris, you're a very considerate and kind person._

_I try my best. _He replied.

"We're here." Came the voice from ahead.

"It's very nice of you to show me this place, thanks."

Elena looked at him queerly, "Thank you Aris, that's very kind. Just look through the hedge there and have a look at what is in the centre." She motioned through the undergrowth.

Peering through the bush Aris witnessed something that made his jaw stay agape for over a minute in complete shock. In front of him stood an object which was truly amazing, the likes of which he never even knew could exist.

A huge monument of a strangely shaped dragon, carved out of a dark stone, sat in the middle of the small clearing, its tall faceted edges poking through the low hanging canopy above. What was stranger still was the host of people gathered around it, heads bowed in a strange prayer with one person standing in front of them all, knelt in front of the statue also.

Elena joined Aris in gazing at this phenomenon in the forest, a thoughtful gaze upon her face, "But, they weren't here last time. It was just the monument, which I thought you would find interesting… Let's get closer so we can hear what is being said."

She edged around through the bushes, taking care not to make too much noise so as to not alert the host to their presence. The young female motioned for Aris to follow so he too crept through the greenery also taking the utmost care not to tread on anything that would cause a racket. As he reached Elena she then grabbed his shoulder and pulled him down to the ground, putting a finger to his lips to silence him.

"Watch." She mouthed, motioning towards the centre. So, peering over the edge, Aris snuck a look at what all the fuss was about around this statue.

The man who leant over the altar now stood, back arched in a strange movement, with arms raised in the air above his head. However, although Aris was not sure if it was the dim lighting that made him see this, but the man's skin had turned a strange colour and had a rough texture. Aris was about to edge forward to get a better look when an overwhelming mental voice shouted.

_Seize them._

Suddenly two strangely dressed people grabbed Aris and Elena from behind, restraining their arms so they could not break the fierce grip that the two initiates retained upon them. "Let go!" A scream came to the left of Aris.

The shout made him force himself to try and break free of the grasp but he could not, it was too powerful as if it was not human, _Arelía! Help us!_

_I come little one. _Came the dim reply tinged with worry.

The two of them were dragged by the people to what seemed to be their leader at the centre of the opening in the forest, the person now stood facing the two of them but they, Aris now realised they were actually a man, were shrouded by the dark. So much so that it almost seemed unnatural. The youth's body panicked and tried to break free again but he had forgotten that he could not, and he had to succumb to the superiority of this strange cult.

_Arelía! They seem very powerful, don't get too close._

_What about you little one?! _The dragon exclaimed.

_Take care of yourself and Heleth Arelía, I would not want you to get hurt._

_NO! I will help you!_

_Arelía don't. Save yourself, if you attack they are more likely to kill me._

… _As you wish little one…_

Aris sensed her presence becoming ever more distant as she flew away back towards the sanctuary of the rider's quarters. As the mind-link became ever more tenuous the youth thought to himself, _I hope I survive this…_

Again the leader spoke, "We shall not spend too much time bothering with you puny mortals, I do not even know how you came upon our shrine but you shall not remember what you saw here."

_Wait… He doesn't know we're riders… _A bolt of realisation scuppered his plan to escape, _but I haven't even been trained to use magic yet, and if Elena even tried we'd both most likely be slaughtered._

Elena struggled against her captor, "You can't do this to us! We'll tell Eragon that you're here and he'll come and fix this."

The voice from above laughed maniacally, "Hahahaha, oh I don't think he'll be doing that somehow."

The young female looked up quizzically but was interrupted by the muttering of the people who restrained them, they muttered quickly and with incomprehensible words; if they had spoken slower perhaps Aris could have understood them but sadly he could not. As they were about to finish the incantation the dark haired boy heard a mental voice call to him from far away, _Aris… Take shelter… In my… Mind… They are trying… To wipe your memory…_

_Arelía?_

_I shall…. Explain… Later Aris… But now come…_

He obeyed the voice, for he knew it was his only saviour, and let go of his body as he drifted into the void that the air and spaces in-between matter consisted of; and once he was safely sheltered inside this strange mind he felt a haze fall upon his body and was convinced he heard someone screaming his name into the dark night's sky…

Author's note: Again another chapter comes to an end, but this one far more mysterious as it is questionable who the strange leader of this 'cult' is. Again, thank you for reading and the reviews, for it brightens my day very much so to see a review in my inbox and the view counter creeping up. The next chapter shall be out next Friday and I do apologise for this but the time creeps closer that I am to start college :/ (31st August) so I have some prep to do along with acquiring my results and going to Oxford for a weekend! For the first two weeks of college I shall not post either and after that I shall make my regular schedule once a week at the weekend, if possible but I shall have to see. This has been a rather long author's note and I do apologise for this but again, thanks for reading and I shall see you guys, and girls, soon.


	15. Eldunarí

Chapter fourteen – Eldunarí

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Aris opened his eyes to find himself lying on his bed in the rider's quarters, staring into the ceiling with a blank look. No one was around, or at least that's what Aris could tell from listening to his surroundings, his hearing capabilities having improved slightly recently which the youth thought to be strange. When he attempted to contact Arelía he found a great barrier pressed around his mind, supressing any thoughts that tried to escape.

The dark haired boy sent out a probe in an attempt to break through the bonds that had been placed on his mind, only to have a deep voice bellow at him, _Do not even try to do that._

This entity which he heard was unlike anything he had ever encountered before; it seemed old beyond compare but its mind was tinged with great sorrow, for it was this strange thing's mind that engulfed Aris' which allowed the youth to sense these things.

Deciding it would not be a good idea to anger this being Aris retreated from the barrier; he then proceeded to try and contact this voice which had silenced him. _Who are you?_

_A simple question, but one which can be deadly._

The cryptic answer baffled Aris but the thing continued speaking unheeded by the lack of a reply, _I am the one known as Glaedr, my rider was Oromis, sadly he passed from this world a long time ago…_

_I am sorry to hear that. _Aris said sympathetically.

_Don't be. I should not have let my guard down to that traitor… Anyway, I assume you are wondering why it is I have trapped your mind inside this invisible prison two-legs?_

Aris glanced into the air quizzically, thinking that it would allow better contact with this entity, _Two-legs? _He enquired.

_Another name for you humans. However, onto the point of our chat – I am guarding your mental state from the spell that was cast upon you and the one that is called Elena; although she did not come out of the situation as well as yourself…_

Panic gripped Aris' heart, something he had not felt before but he put the strange feeling aside and instead asked of his friend's state, _How is she? Where is she? Is she okay?!_

_Hush, little one, hush. All is well; except she remembers nothing of last night nor why you were going to go… It is sad really to think someone such as him would do that…_

_Who is this man?_

_Someone very dangerous and a person who you should remain away from; I have been monitoring him for some time now, even in my impaired state I can do this. It is not your duty to stop this ritual from occurring however, that I shall leave to others…_

_Yes, yes. That is all well but where is Elena and why have you trapped my mind?_

A booming laugh streamed through Aris' mind, _Ah young couples, it is always reassuring to see flowering love. Even if the other forgets their first date._

_How do you know about that?! _The dark haired boy said, now with great anger.

_I have my ways but be quiet now. _The thing remained calm in its tone, almost swaying Aris into obeying its commands. _The answer to the latter part of your question is thus - I am stopping the spell from reaching your mind as you are the only person who has evidence of these peculiar goings on. If I were to release my grip without your consent the spell would ravage your mind and remove any trace of last night from it, even many of your memories of Elena… Even now she struggles to remember who you are, it would be best if you met with her._

Tears formed at the corner of his eyes in great sorrow, _You are right. May I ask one more question before I leave?_

_If you wish._

_Who are you; I mean who _are _you truly? Dragon, human, elf?_

_I am dragon, though not entirely… My body was damaged many years ago and I died a mortal death, however I live on in this state, unable to move but I can still influence events in this world._

_That must be horrible!_

_It is, although I do what I must to help riders such as yourself. You will be able to glean more information on what I am now once you are better learnt, for now it would be best if you did not ask any further questions now go! Find Elena and bring back her memories. Oh and before you leave Aris do not tell anyone of my existence, it would be best kept secret. Also speak not of what occurred last night for none will believe you._

_Is that all? _Aris asked.

_No; when the time comes and you feel you have lost all hope, call upon the power of the dragons to help you. That is all I can say and it was a message passed on from another._

_Thank you, for… for all this help. I hope we can speak again soon._

_As do I. Now let me lift the mind block off you._

The dark haired youth felt a presence pressing down on the barrier which coated the circumference of his mind, he let it past and do what was necessary. Chanting words echoed through his head, words of great power but ones which he did not understand; once the voice ceased he heard Glaedr speak once more, _Repeat after me to give the consent._

A convoluted mess of words came into the youth's head; however, he did his best to repeat them to the dragon's satisfaction. He felt the barrier lift but there was still some left…

_Aris? Aris can you hear me? Aris!_

_Arelía?!_

_Yes, I've been trying to contact you, I even roared into your room but you did not wake. Aris, is your mind okay? It feels… different._

_I… I don't know. Let me try something._

Reaching out into the nether, now not afraid of the emptiness after his experience with Glaedr, he groped for Elena's mind but he found the whole area around him clouded and clustered with a cacophony of thoughts pouring through his mind. The dark haired boy retreated his mind quickly to escape the pain of all the noise.

_Well?_

_It feels like I can't contact anyone very well… But I don't know…_

_It is that you cannot contact people through solid objects, such as buildings. I am sorry Aris but the spell went slightly wrong and has tweaked your mind; I cannot fix this although someone may be able to but not for a while at least._

Aris looked down at the floor sadly, _Crippled at such a young age… This is going to hinder my training… _He thought bitterly to himself. _Thank you for informing me Glaedr._

_It is my duty. _He replied, then retreating again into the dark.

_Let us find Elena. I sensed that she was close. _Aris said to Arelía.

_Hurry little one, I am with you._

Using his mind as a guide Aris dashed through the corridors and halls of the riders quarters, often having to apologise to riders he had ran into along the way. As he ran he got closer and closer to Elena, until her presence was almost overwhelming to him. Then, as the dark haired boy turned a corner, he caught sight of a brown haired girl chatting to what looked to be Luthíen.

"Elena!" He cried out, desperate to talk to her.

The girl turned around, a rather confused gaze upon her visage.

"Erm… Who are you?"

Author's note: Sorry to leave it on a cliff hanger but I'll get the next chapter up soon I hope so you can find out what is going on! Sorry this one is a bit shorter than the rest but I am rather busy this week and wanted to get this finished for Friday (as I'm away all weekend). Thanks for reading, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out next Thursday/Saturday.


	16. Interventions

Chapter fifteen – Interventions

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

"Erm… Who are you?"

Aris stood in shock; Glaedr's theory had been proven right, Elena had forgotten all about him.

"It's me Aris… Don't you remember me?"

The girl shook her head, "No… Can you please go away now please? You're scaring me slightly."

The dark haired boy's face sank as Elena's response confirmed that which he had feared, the words '_Even if the other forgets their date.' _echoing through his head as if taunting him causing the youth to run off sobbing, not noticing Luthíen trailing after him silently.

As he rounded a corner Aris heard a female voice shout his name. He spun around expecting Elena to come running after him and explaining it was all a joke.

He was wrong.

Luthíen came jogging up to him, hair flowing behind her as she had travelled at great speed.

"Aris wait up!"

The youth did not answer, instead he continued walking unheeded by the young woman's calls for him for he was distraught at the events that had unfolded and only wanted to go back to his room and cry in the company of Arelía, who he knew would comfort him. However, Luthíen persisted and continued calling his name until she caught up with Aris who was going at a brisk pace, head facing the floor. "Aris! Stop!" Again he did not listen. "I only want to help you Aris… I don't know what's up with Elena today she's been acting funnily."

Aris whirled round, eyes tinged with anger and fists clenched, "You don't say?! I never would have guessed considering she has forgotten who I am!"

Luthíen held his shoulder comfortingly, "I'm sure it's some kind of joke Aris. I'll have a word with her and sort this all out."

Growing with anger Aris rose until he stood leaning over Luthíen, causing her to stagger backwards in fear of him. "SHE IS NOT LIKE THAT!" He bellowed, attracting a crowd of onlookers from the floor below the balcony that overshadowed the lower floor of the quarters, "SHE IS NOT LIKE THAT AT ALL!" And with that he stormed off running back to his room and collapsing on the bed.

_Oh little one… _

The room remained silent for a few more minutes, the only sound being the murmur from outside of the people who witnessed the youth's outburst.

_I… I shouldn't have broken down like that… I'm a dragon rider, I should be strong…_

_That doesn't mean you shouldn't succumb to your emotions Aris. _Arelía replied.

_I know… But it's just… Elena was the first person, aside from my family, who had ever shown true kindness to me. When she saw I was injured and helped me even though there was no need… We have had our bad times though. Like the fact we always seem to argue and such; I can't put that behind me however it's what makes us friends those disputes, what keeps us together._

_You're getting all soppy on me Aris, you're going to make me cry._

A restrained laugh, which came out more like a short bark, responded to Arelía's comment, _Sorry Arelía… I was just telling you how I feel about Elena._

_Maybe I can help. _A deep voice echoed through the minds of rider and dragon. Aris immediately recognised it to be that of Glaedr, the strange entity he had spoken to.

_Glaedr?_

_Who is Glaedr? _Arelía asked.

_That is I, young dragon. _Aris felt a stream of memories flow into Arelía, those which were not her own, memories of things long ago and alien to both rider and dragon.

_I hope that answers your question._

_It does Glaedr. I now understand, thank you. _The silver scaled dragon said in evident awe at these strange memories that the other had shown to her.

_I could help you Aris; I have taken an interest in these affairs of yours and see it fit for me to help you with them in whatever way I can. I think there is an old spell which can reinstate memories into someone's mind, although it has to be from a certain time past and has to be done quickly after a mind-wipe spell, in case the truth is lost forever… I can direct you to where the book is that contains this script of the ancient language, although I do not know where exactly this is. Mortals moving things where they shouldn't… If only there were someone who could help you._

"Luthíen!" Aris shouted, in sudden realisation and after the desperation that Elena had truly forgotten him.

_What? _Glaedr would have given Aris a funny look if he still retained his mortal body.

_Luthíen, my partner of sorts. She knows a fair amount about the library I think; we could ask her._

_A good idea if any. _Commented Arelía; not bringing up the fact that Elena was a very keen and studious person in fear of upsetting Aris again.

_Find her with haste then Arelía and Aris. Best of luck again and I shall return to you once the incantation has been found._

_See you soon Glaedr. Thanks again for the help._

_I am glad that I could be of assistance; it gives me something to do during these long uneventful years._

_It was good to meet you old one._

_You too Arelía, it is always gratifying to see young ones with so much promise and being able to converse with them. So full of energy and mirth… I remember those days. But I am merely an old dragon blabbing on about nothing of consequence. I shall depart now. Good bye._

The presence of Glaedr faded from Arelía's and Aris' minds as if he had never been there.

Once Aris had regained his wits after the conversation with Glaedr he dashed off, Arelía watching over him from his mind, and dashed down the balcony to find out where Luthíen was and then the location of the scroll that would bring Elena back.

_Well I can't see what can go wrong with this. _Arelía said naively.

_Don't say that… _Aris replied with a sigh, continuing to look for a shock of blonde hair walking around the rider's quarters.

Author's note: Again apologies for the short chapter but I am keeping it this length for a reason, partially because I am busy tomorrow and have an interview for college along with the fact I go on holiday in the evening. I did get my results today though and am very pleased with them (an A* in English literature now allows me to write this properly :p). Also this is a surprise chapter which I thought everyone may appreciate =3 as everyone loves surprises right? *Sees person collapsed with shock on floor* anyway… Yes, the next chapter shall be out next Thursday/Saturday. Thanks for reading and don't forget, as always, to rate and review.


	17. Bibliophile

Chapter sixteen – Bibliophile

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

As Aris rounded one of the many corners within the sleeping quarters of the building he spotted a shock of blonde hair slip round one of the bark coated walls so he sprinted to catch up with, whom he assumed, was Luthíen.

Steadying himself Aris skidded to a halt at the end of the corridor he had just been running down and glanced quickly either way down it to see if Luthíen was still there. However, there was no sign of anyone about at all so Aris returned to looking for her or anyone who could help him.

Suddenly a bolt of inspiration shot through his mind, _Surely, even if Elena does not know who I am I could ask her to help me. Back when she first met me in Elrohir's office she did not know who I was so she may still remember that!_

_A good point if any to start on Aris; you are doing well._

_Thank you Arelía. _He said with pride and great thanks to his dragon, who he now felt even more of a bond with after the current events and was even beginning to grasp the concept of rider _and _dragon like Eragon had said all those months ago. _We had best be quick though, Elena may have gone by now._

_Yes, may the wind flow behind you little one and travel with haste._

He acknowledged the dragon's comment but did not reply.

Again Aris ran back down the corridor that he had come down and slowed down as he reached the balcony, so as not to hit anyone and knock them off over the railings, as it was possible even with them at a decent height. The dark haired boy continued running until he hit the place where Luthíen and Elena had been talking.

Elena was still there, identifiable by her dark brown locks, chatting with Luthíen again.

_So _that's _where she got to. _Aris thought with slight annoyance at his fellow rider sneaking off like that. _I must have scared her a bit with the whole palaver earlier…_

Arelía performed a mental nod to show her agreement, _Now quickly, and don't scare them out of their wits this time little one._

He allowed himself a small laugh, _I'll try my best not to._

Walking up to the pair of girls the youth took a deep breath and calmed his tone so as not to send them fleeing at the sight of him, "Hello again ladies."

Elena swirled round and looked at the dark haired boy in shock before quickly regaining her composure and smartening her stance, "What do you want this time?"

"I need your help in finding a certain scroll. It's for… Academic purposes."

"Why should I help you? Considering earlier today you ran up to me, shouted at me then ran off crying."

Aris cast a glare at Luthíen, _She must have told Elena about how I'd reacted the little-_

_Hush, she does not mean ill. Concentrate on what you are doing._

"Because… Because…"

"Because?" The brown haired youth asked, trying to hurry Aris along.

"Because I've heard you know a lot about books and was wondering if you could help me, someone who needs assistance in their work, find something of importance."

"Hmm… I'll think about it." With that she suddenly strode off, going at a fair pace so Aris had to jog to keep up with her.

"Stop a minute, I wasn't finished." He said, putting himself in front of her so that she could not get passed him, forcing her to talk.

"Why are you getting in my way?" She said in an exasperated tone.

"Because I want you to help me."

"Very persistent aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

Elena had no way to retort to Aris' reply so she instead tried to barge past him but to no avail. He simply just moved to block her and was too strong to barge past so she gave up and stood, arms crossed, glaring at Aris.

_If you two would stop arguing I think Elena wants to get past. _A dragon-esque voice bellowed from above scaring the two of them.

_Heleth? _Aris enquired.

_How do you know my name two-legs? I have never met you before._

_Oh dear. _Aris thought to himself, and Arelía who was listening in with worry which her rider could sense with ease. _Erm… Just coincidence. _He replied. _I'm sure I've met your rider, Elena, before as she helped me out when I was in trouble with Elrohir._

A sudden look of realisation came across the youth's face, "That I do… Now I remember who you are! Well, we have only met the once but I do remember you now. It's fine Heleth don't worry."

_Humf. Okay. But be careful Elena, you can never trust strangers._

She must have said something else to her dragon after that as her eyes were closed and her lips were moving although no sound came out. After the brown haired girl returned to consciousness she apologised to Aris for the misunderstanding and agreed to help him out with finding this scroll, there was a warning from her though, "The scroll that you want may be hard to obtain. Some magical scrolls are in a restricted section where only high ranking dragon riders can go, for these things contain supposed dangerous spells that us riders in training are not allowed to learn or even go near for the fear that the magic is either too dangerous or powerful to use. That's what the librarian told me at least…"

"Okay, I'm sure I can coerce them to let us see it. Or at least get someone to help…" Thinking of Glaedr Aris wondered whether he would assist them in returning Elena's memory. He wasn't sure of it though as the dragon-thing seemed to have a desire to stay hidden from everyone.

"Yes, I have known the librarian some time now. I'm pretty sure he will let us through into the restricted section."

_If only she knew why we were doing this. _He thought bitterly.

"Wait; did you say _he_?"

Elena gave Aris a strange and curious look, "Erm yes? What of it?"

"Oh… Nothing…"

"Okay then. Anyway, to the library!" She continued, raising her arm into the air as if pointing into the sky – or forwards to the other building where the library resided.

"Yep. Come on then, lead the way."

Not replying Elena set off at a fair trot along the balcony, saying good bye to Luthíen as she left and apologised for disappearing in the middle of the conversation, and headed downstairs and out of the large entryway to the rider's quarters.

As they hit the forest the two of them slowed down to a walking pace so as to not wear them both out, even though they were dragon riders they were humans so they tired rather easily. At least compared to elves they did. Elena surprised Aris by turning around to him as they walked and saying, "You seem nice by the way Aris, if a bit impolite at times but that seems to be from inexperience. I'm sure we've met before… But never mind. I'm getting distracted again when we should be getting to the library. Come on then slow coach, keep up!"

Aris laughed to himself, _She's almost like the Elena I know. Except she can't remember me; I hope Glaedr's idea works._

_Don't worry little one, I have faith in him._

_Hmm okay. Did he show you something back then, to make you trust him and all? If so what was it?_

_I'm afraid I can't tell you that. The memories are not meant for human, especially your, eyes._

_Why can't you tell me? Surely it's not that important!_

Arelía sighed, _If I were to explain them or show them to you the way you live and the way you think of yourself would change forever. That would drive you insane unless you learn more._

_More of what? _Aris asked in an annoyed tone.

_You._

The answer left Aris baffled and he did not answer, his subconscious just kept him following Elena towards the library as he wondered what the memories could be.

The pair entered through the main doorway of the administrative, and leisure, building at the centre of the home of the riders; the large sculptured structures being as magnificent and elegant as when he last saw them. That was, when Aris was first welcomed, or not so by Elrohir, to the sanctuary after Finwë had saved him…

_All this time and I haven't gone back to see him and apologise for ruining his livelihood. I should do that someday soon, when my training allows. I wonder why he hasn't come to see us._

_That I do not know little one; I am sure you will be reunited, in time._

_I do as well Arelía. _

Elena continued to guide Aris up through the huge building, several flights of steps in an alcove leading up towards the library which resided at the peak of the grand hall. He caught glimpses of other riders, and elves, strolling around below or passing them on the stairs. All of them, or at least most, seemed rather friendly as they greeted him as a friend often saying "Hello," or "Good day" To him and Elena as they came past.

_I feel welcomed here. It's strange, I've never even met these people before yet I feel as if I have… Never mind. Must be something else._

_Mm-hm. _Arelía agreed in a subdued manner, as if she weren't telling the whole tale. Aris, however, did not realise this tone in her so ignored his dragon's strange feelings.

"We have arrived." Elena gestured with her hand and stood to one side revealing a magnificent room which spanned the length of the whole hall coating every wall in books bursting with memories, knowledge and other such things. Having never been in a library before Aris found the whole place fascinating, it was as if a slice of his dreams had been removed and placed on the earth. The whole library was so tranquil and quiet the youth felt like he could pass a whole day there and not notice.

At the far side the large rows of books on shelves cleared out and a small floating light seemed to indicate a change in the area. Beyond that point there were fewer shelves, and the ones that resided there seemed to arc round rather than stay in straight rows, making it almost like a maze of sorts. Fewer people seemed to be at the far end of the room also, making Aris suspect that this was the 'restricted area' Elena had mentioned.

A man strode up to them with a confident stride, almost as if he owned the place.

He had short, well-trimmed brown hair and glasses which aged his appearance slightly although Aris could tell he was rather young. Furrowed eyebrows emphasised his seriousness and caused Aris to retreat to the man's confidence and other very imposing traits. However, when he greeted them he seemed friendly enough.

"Ah Elena, I see you've brought a friend to see the library. I'm glad, it's been rather quiet today. I am the librarian Sabjorn, I come from the northern city of Ceunon in Alagaesia and am here only for my knowledge of books, some would say I'm a bibliophile but I prefer to call it my 'hobby'. And who may you be?"

"Erm, well I'm Aris. Nice to meet you." They shook hands, "What's a bibliophile?"

"It's someone who enjoys books and reading, if you must know. You must be the one who Elena has mentioned before, I think it was Aris at least… I can't be sure. The memories are hazy to me, must be my old age."

"But you look so young!" Aris protested over emphatically.

"Nay, I am rather old although my appearance suggests otherwise. I attribute it to my daily walks in the forest and balanced diet, for as I am human I eat meat. Unlike those elves. I am rambling, as is the job of a librarian I suppose but I shall not keep you waiting for both of you look as if someone's house has burnt down. What do you need?"

Elena answered, "We need to find a scroll, Aris knows which one it is. I was wondering if you could let us into the restricted area?"

Sabjorn's confidence seemed to fade slightly at the mention of both the scroll and the restricted zone, "Well… I don't think I can allow you to enter there but if you know which scroll you need I can fetch it for you."

"Yes that sounds-"

The brown haired girl's voice faded as a deep echoing sound flashed through Aris' mind, along with an image of a piece of paper with strange runes etched upon it.

_This is the scroll you need. You are the one who must find it Aris then read it. I know you know basic runes but this is in a different dialect to what you are used to so I shall instruct you in the pronunciation but go with haste. Others are beginning to forget who you are also, if you did not notice the librarian's memory lapse._

_I did, partially. I shall get the scroll now Glaedr._

_Good work young rider._

The phrase that Glaedr had interrupted continued, as if time had frozen when Aris had talked to the dragon, "Great. What do you think, Aris?"

"I need to see the scroll myself, to check if it is the right one. It's difficult to… identify it."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Aris, that area is strictly off limits to students and younger riders."

A growl echoed through the minds of the trio, Aris knew this because both Sabjorn and Elena stumbled backwards slightly. Then the librarian grasped his head and began shaking it violently before stopping suddenly and staring into space; his vision devoid of emotion.

Once the episode had passed the brown haired man regained his composure and spoke to Aris once more, "I am sorry. I'll let you see the scroll now, if you'll follow me."

Sabjorn lead Elena and Aris towards the strange light that Aris now realised indicated the entrance to the restricted section of the library. Taking them past the border the clamour of voices seemed to die away and fade into the background as book shelves engulfed them.

After several more minutes of walking they stopped in front of one side of the wall that spanned the length of the whole library; a bookcase stood before them, coated in many alcoves with rolled up paper stuffed into them. Sabjorn pulled over a ladder, which was on rollers which intrigued Aris greatly, and climbed up, taking down a scroll from the shelf – even though Aris had not told him which one he wanted.

"Is this the one you want?" The librarian enquired.

Quickly glancing over it Aris nodded the affirmative; it _was _the scroll that Glaedr had showed him. "Why yes, it is. Thank you." Aris took the scroll and began scrolling through the text briefly, to see what he would be reading.

_Well I can't really read it at all…_

_Don't worry, Glaedr will help you comprehend it._

_That I will. Just follow my instructions Aris._

The elder being began speaking in a strange language which Aris did not understand. He tried his best to repeat the spell after Glaedr's tuition, reading a whole page of material which he found rather taxing, but none-the-less the dark haired youth finished reading.

Nothing happened.

_What's wrong? _Aris enquired with concern.

_It's your pronunciation. Because you've never spoken the language before it is difficult for you. I suppose… Yes, that should work._

_What will work? _Glaedr did not answer, _Glaedr what will work?!_

Nothing could be heard for a few seconds until Elena started screaming and grasping her head, along with Sabjorn and many others whom Aris could now hear through the bookcases, however, he did not seemed to be affected by the incantation as if he were shielded from it somehow.

After a minute the screams ceased and Elena opened her eyes whilst lowering her arms, looking around she took in the surroundings of the library looking at Sabjorn and Aris staring at them for a score of seconds before moving onto the next.

"A-Aris, Sabjorn… What's happened? Why are we here?"

The librarian gazed at the scroll in Aris' hands, "I don't… quite know. I don't know why we're in the restricted section either. We'd best get out before someone spots us snooping around."

Elena looked at Aris again, "Aris, aren't we meant to be going out later? For our walk like we planned? Surely we should be getting ready."

For some reason the dark haired boy found himself laughing, the chuckled increasing in vigour as he continued to laugh until he ran out of breath, "We went out last night Elena. Don't you remember?"

She looked at him queerly, "No? I'm not aware we did."

Casting his doubts to one side Aris grabbed Elena and embraced her in a large hug, "It's good to have you back Elena."

"Erm… Yep. Good for me to be back." She replied in an unsure tone, returning the hug as they embraced at the return of everyone's memories after the strange meeting the day before…

Author's note: Wow, this chapter is a rather long one, for me at least. Just an update – as I'm sure you know I'm starting college tomorrow so I won't update for two weeks or until I can get round to writing after then. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading and don't forget to rate and review. Ooh I've managed to just nudge over 3000 words by writing this. Didn't expect to do that; I suppose I could mention about my attempts at drawing which I am doing alongside writing and playing Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. So I have been quite busy with that and other preparation things and work… When I say drawing I mean putting lines on a page to make a recognisable image; I've never been good at drawing but I think I can prove that anyone can do it! I've ranted too much now… Sorry everyone :p Again thanks for reading and the next chapter shall be out soon.


	18. The Date

Chapter seventeen – The Date

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

The sun set upon another day in the forest under the vigilance of the valley sides bringing darkness to the abodes of the riders and elves alike under the canopy that lay as a blanket resting over the valley. Many headed off to rest for the night as their busy schedules demanded it; however, some remained in the waking world still wandering about the forest or sitting inside their homes filling their time before they too had to succumb to their dreams.

Aris and Elena, along with their respective dragons, were some of the few who remained conscious through these hours due to personal choice and to fulfil the statement from the other day – that they would have a friendly chat and a walk around the forest together. The male of the pair hoping that, of course, the same tragedy wouldn't befall them again; the thought of it brought slight tears to his eyes as he remembered his disability but primarily how Elena had forgotten him. The dark haired youth cast those memories to one side now as he did not want them to interfere with the present.

_Little one, don't worry. I'm sure you'll be just fine. _Arelía stated, trying to reassure her nervous rider.

_I hope so Arelía, at least we shouldn't bump into any cults this time eh? It should just be a nice walk out in the forest out in the fresh night air._

_I hope so too Aris. I shall stay close this time so that if you get into trouble I shall be able to aid you and your female friend._

Aris began laughing at his dragon's comment for a reason unknown to the silver scaled being causing Arelía to wonder what her rider was doing.

_What do you find so amusing Aris? Why are you laughing? Is it something I said or-_

_Yes, it is. _

Arelía retreated from the conversation slightly abashed. _Wh-what is so funny about what I said then?_

_It's just the way you said 'female friend' when normally you tease me about fancying Elena and how nervous I am around girls, especially her. But you didn't do that this time you see; I can tell you're trying to be protective of me, as is your duty as dragon and as is my duty to protect you as your rider, but you worry too much Arelía. _He scratched under one of her scales to reassure the dragon, _I'll be fine. You can fly close if you want but don't be fretting unduly about us. There is nothing to worry about._

_Very well little one, I shall do as you say._

_Thank you Arelía. _Aris replied gratefully, hugging his dragon's neck tightly in thanks.

_Argh! Aris you're crushing me!_

The youth stopped the embrace and stood back, hands on hips, looking critically at Arelía.

_Crushing you am I? _He said critically.

Arelía tried to supress a rather obvious dragon laugh, for smoke spurted out of her nostrils.

_Erm… yes? _The silver scaled being said, still trying to stop laughing.

In response Aris swatted her flank in exasperation and walked off to meet Elena, he too chuckling at Arelía's comment as he was sure his dragon sensed.

"Hey Aris, you okay? You seem a bit detached from everything at the moment."

The youth waved a hand dismissively in response to the question, "Nah I'm fine, don't you worry Elena. Shall we head off then?"

"Yep sure." She started walking, Aris keeping in step.

"Hopefully we don't bump into any more strange cults this time," He whispered to himself, grinning slightly at the cynicism.

_Now don't be so bitter Aris, _Arelía cautioned, her personality cutting in, _Remember, you have to be _nice _to Elena. Do you want me to tell you what that means?_

_Yes… I know Arelía I'm sorry. _Aris apologised as his dragon's traits altered his own.

_Good. Now you go and have a good time, I am going up to the mountain top to have a rest._

Slowly Aris found it more and more difficult to sense Arelía's presence, especially as she was through the trees, until it dwindled away to almost nothing and he could sense but her most basic emotions.

"Has Arelía gone off to have a rest?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Intuition, the look on your face had been as if she was far away. I can tell a lot just from reading your face you know Aris."

"Can you now?" He asked, raising his voice at the end almost in sarcasm.

"Mm-hm. You can do it too, through mind speak you can look into a person's mind and think what they think, even influence their thoughts."

"Is this part of a rider's magical abilities or is it something anybody can do? And if so could I use this power?"

_It may come in handy… _Aris thought to himself.

"Of course! With the right training of course. It's just like speaking to Arelía although doing it with humans; I haven't been taught it yet but I am to be soon so I am looking forward to that!"

"It does sound rather intriguing…"

An awkward silence fell over them for several minutes, "Say, Elena, could you read my mind now? Like, right at this instant?"

She thought carefully about the question for a score of seconds before answering, and even then she spoke in a slow decisive tone.

"If I had learned how to then yes. As of now no. Why? What are you thinking of?" The brown haired girl stared at him expectantly.

"Oh… Nothing of interest."

"Oh…" Elena replied, disappointment evident in her tone.

"Although you could say it was someone close to me." Aris continued, unsure of what to say as he was rather new to the whole 'chatting up girls' business.

Elena blushed showing Aris' success, "Are they now?" Aris nodded. "Well I shan't ask whom it is though I can guess."

The two of them continued talking as they walked slowly through the boughs and trees in the dense forest of the valley; the things they spoke of were nothing of great interest, just general chatter. Aris made sure he always listened to Elena's stories, of which she had many, as they were both interesting and he knew he would gain her favour if he was polite to her.

Often did the youth comment on her tales, sometimes telling his own although he did not have many and before he was five he couldn't remember much at all.

Somehow the pair had managed to wend their way back to the rider's quarters, quite by coincidence of course, and stopped in front of the large entryway.

Before crossing the threshold and heading back to her room Elena said, "Thank you very much Aris, it was nice catching up with you and talking to you. Would you, y'know… Want to go out again tomorrow night? Only if you want of course it's not-"

Aris silenced the young female by putting his hand on hers; going on his instincts, not relying on Arelía this time, he said, "I would love to. I don't know why I wouldn't want to. Of course if I'm too tired I can't but I'm sure I won't be. I've enjoyed our nice friendly chat, thank _you. _And see you tomorrow?"

"Bye Aris…" Elena called meekly after him.

_Well that went better than expected, a nice friendly chat – after all we are only friends, nothing more. I'll get to bed now as it's late and I have a busy day tomorrow and will need to be okay for meeting Elena again. _

As he strolled through the halls back to his small room on the second floor he felt a content feeling come through his link with Arelía which the youth did not notice, although Arelía was happy – happy at the fact her rider had found a friend.

Author's note: Wow… a bit soppy eh? I'm just kidding, it's not like normal Aris to be like this but he has matured a lot. Apologies for the short chapter but it's sort of an update chapter too just saying I'll post every other week for this fic now, as college is rather tiring, unless of course I get some inspiration to write several chapters at once which can happen! Again, thanks for reading, don't forget to rate and review (thanks for all of the reviews since the last chapter by the way) and the next chapter shall be out soonish!


	19. Magic

Chapter eighteen – Magic

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Someone nudged Aris' shoulder; he rolled over onto the other side of the bed groaning. Again the person prodded him. Aris mumbled, "Don't want to get up." and groaned once more.

"Aris you need to get up, it's Eragon."

The youth took a second to register whom it was that was speaking to him for he still lay in his bed, trying to get some sleep by turning away from the noise until the name Eragon registered in his mind.

"Eragon!"

The elder rider chuckled, "Yes, it is I. I came to wake you up so we can continue your magic lessons, if you want to of course."

_The magic lessons! I completely forgot, what with getting back Elena's memory and everything… I've become too forgetful of late._

_You're not that forgetful Aris; you just go with Eragon. I have some hunting to do today as I have not eaten recently._

_Okay Arelía, see you later._

_Good bye little one. _

"Yes! I want to continue the lessons that is. If you let me get dressed I can be ready in five to ten minutes."

"Very well, I shall wait outside." Eragon patiently went and stood against the outer wall of Aris' room, standing on the balcony so he could get a look of the forest in the early morning, or so Aris assumed.

Quickly Aris threw a tunic on along with some shoes and trousers, all coloured in the traditional style being very suited to the forest, and went to tell Eragon that he was ready.

The rider responded well to Aris' quick preparation; he walked back through the small room and out onto the long corridor which ran along the entirety of the rider's quarters. Eragon set a brisk pace as they headed along, down, and out of the building meaning that at some points the dark haired youth that followed him had to jog to catch up.

"Where are we going today?" Aris enquired once they were out of the hearing range of everyone in the building.

"Back to the same place, it is the one true safe place to practice magic and one place where we will not be disturbed; it's more for safety though that I am using the dome as I like to call it, because, and you may not believe this, you are a powerful mage. I can sense it inside you, the residual energy if you could call it that. I don't normally tell students their potential but with you I think we can make an exception, for you are already an exceptional student; if a bit… 'Rash' at times."

Aris was unsure whether to take the comment as a compliment or an insult, instead he remained silent as he was content to do so for the time being and allow Eragon to do the talking – Aris saving his energy for performing magic.

"I assume we're performing practical magic today then? You said we would the other day before I got… preoccupied."

"Ahh yes I heard of that little endeavour of yours, Glaedr told me all about it."

The youth gaped at his elder in shock, "You know Glaedr?! Wait… Glaedr told you about-"

"You and Elena yes." Again he chuckled, Eragon must have been in good humour today, "I always thought since the moment you met back in Elrohir's office you suited each other. But apart from that Glaedr did mention what you found." Now a severe tone crept into his voice, "And you must not speak of this to anyone. I'm sure Glaedr may well have told you this already but I am even more adamant on the fact that you shan't utter a word on this subject, for both my and your safety."

"I shan't." Aris said.

"Good. I shall trust your word."

They continued walking through the forest in silence. That was until Aris noticed the opening in the densely packed trees once more and walked towards it, intrigued.

"We are here, you may enter Aris don't worry it won't explode or anything."

The two of them breached the threshold into the large, open space that lay within; little light provided through the trees from the sides but from above the canopy was glowing with the eerie light of the morning sun. Briefly Aris witnessed the force field around the clearing but it faded into the darkness…

Turning around to face Eragon Aris awaited the rider's instructions.

"Today," the elder rider began, "You shall learn about the finer applications of magic; moving objects, shaping objects and other such things. Simple yet very effective – take this stone for example." Eragon picked up a small pebble and stared at it with nostalgia, "This brings back memories of my training… Sorry the thought came to my mind suddenly."

"No problem." Aris responded.

"Anyway; lift this stone. _That _is the only thing I shall tell you for now aside from the words 'stenr reisa'. Utter them and see their effect."

Eragon stood back observing, watching Aris intently causing the youth to flinch slightly.

_Okay. I just need to concentrate; how did I use magic last time?_

_The power at the back of your mind. _Arelía answered, being her rider's conscience.

_Okay._ Aris reached out, delving deep inside his own mind to find this magical potential and to utilise it. He searched for several minutes until he found a lump, one that had not been present before; behind it seemed to be an immense power that he could use willingly at any time. Breaching the barrier with ease the youth felt as if he were being flooded with power and he had to use it or else he would explode.

"Stenr reisa." He said, managing to retain a steady tone. The small pebble wobbled from his palm, where Eragon had passed it to him, and floated above his hand for several seconds before collapsing back down into the palm of his hand once more.

"Impressive. Very impressive; you have much skill but-" Eragon pointedly raised his finger, "You also require control, as magic without regulation can be… deadly to say the least."

"Thank you, I shall try my best to master it."

"One cannot simply master the ancient language," Eragon tugged at his beard slightly, "Specialising in a certain element is normally what magicians do. For example my good friend Arya, who is sadly no longer with us here as she had to stay behind in Alagaesia, mastered silver – Arget – so that she could command its very essence and that is a great power in itself."

"Wow, so she could shape it to her will?"

"Yes, she could do almost anything with silver. However, she is an elf and a very powerful magician also so you cannot hope to gain that kind of mastery; but for a human you are incredibly potent in magical skills which is strange. You seem to even have the power of a weak elf! You are an anomaly Aris; I know I'm being deadly honest with you here but I believe it's best. I had too many secrets kept from me when I was your age…"

"Don't worry about it. It's nice to know the whole truth and not just part of it."

"Indeed. Want to try that again then? As the saying goes 'practice makes perfect'."

"Sure." The dark haired youth replied with vigour, keen to continue practicing magic as it was something that he really did have an interest in; as he was sure Arelía did as well for he could sense her listening in on the lesson as well.

"Very well, commence!" Eragon barked.

For many hours did the pair practice, as well as learn, much of the ancient language. Aris noted that his small scar from being bonded with Arelía lit up every time he uttered a spell; when he asked Eragon about this the rider did not even know the answer himself. He simply said to himself that 'it was as it was' and did not speak any more on the matter.

When they finished Aris made sure to thank Eragon for the tuition, understanding he was taking a lot of the elder rider's time to which Eragon replied, "It's no problem, I have to something to fill my days apart from mindless banter with Elrohir and other administrators, all caught up in their paperwork… It's ridiculous."

Returning to the rider's quarters Aris bid farewell to Eragon and said that he'd see him in a few days for another lesson. When he returned the youth collapsed into a chair in the common room, completely shattered from performing magic most of the day; however, he was soon woken up by a booming, very dwarven, laugh.

"Aris! Sleeping like a little baby, how sweet."

"Durum." Aris said wearily, rubbing his eyes as he got up.

"Who else my friend? How are you? I haven't seen you in a while!"

"Busy."

"I never would have guessed, 'busy', such an accurate answer."

Aris laughed, he liked Durum's sense of humour, "Sorry, I'm tired and don't feel like talking much. I've been doing things."

"An even better answer!" Durum declared, causing some riders to turn and see where the disturbance was coming from. "I'm just kidding with you Aris, it's good to have you back. And I have someone here who might make you talk more."

"Who?" The youth grunted.

"Hey Aris." A female voice said.

"Elena!" He shot up at the sound of her voice, _I completely forgot we were going out for another walk tonight!_

_Oh yes, I forgot to remind you Aris._

_Don't worry Arelía, she's here now._

_Good, good. _Arelía said smugly.

"Aris!" Durum shouted back, his loud laugh echoing through the room once more; Aris' and Elena's laughter adding to the dwarf's. "Sorry." He apologised.

"Hello Aris, did you forget about our walk for tonight?"

"I did a bit… Sorry."

"No worries, we're here now. Want to head out?"

"Sure." He replied keenly, now full of energy.

"So at the mention of my stories you fall asleep but when your little girlfriend comes you perk up? Only you Aris, only you…"

Elena hit Durum playfully on the shoulder, "Quiet you, he's not my boyfriend. Not yet." To which Durum chuckled in response.

"Not yet? Have you got something planned eh?" Aris asked.

"Maybe." Elena said with a sly wink which caused Aris to blush.

_I shouldn't have flirted with her yesterday, now she's seen it as an excuse to flirt with me!_

_Surely having flirting directed at you by a girl is no bad thing Aris? You're just nervous, don't worry._

"Shall we get going then? Before any more distractions get in our way?" He gave a sarcastic glance to Durum who gave a look on his face which said 'what? Why are you looking at me?'

"Of course. Come on," The brown haired youth took Aris by the hand and led him out of the building and into the darkness of the forest.

"So, how was your day Aris?"

"Good. Tiring though…"

"What were you doing that made you so tired?"

"A bit of this, a bit of that."

She looked at him flatly, "Are you going to answer my question or not?"

"Sorry I'm not really meant to tell anyone… Not even you Elena." She seemed to take this as an answer and smiled slightly.

"Okay."

They chatted on and on through the night, their voices muffled through the trees from the density of the forest where they walked; Aris was even sure they passed the dome at one point although it was difficult to tell in the dark.

"Thank you again Aris for a nice night; even if you were slightly… secretive."

"Thank you as well Elena, for being a good friend."

The girl blushed, "It's… No problem Aris. You've been really good to me, so kind compared to others. Most of the time I forget you were even a slave and think you were someone of noble birth."

_A slave. _The word would always haunt him, he knew that now. _Everyone thinks, no knows, that is my background. They can't trust fully in me, beside Eragon. I'm sure he understands about everything, he's rather old so he must have some wisdom._

"Anyway, see you tomorrow Elena." Aris said sullenly, not bothering to ask for another night out in the beautiful forest.

"Bye Aris." She called after him, her voice fading into the trees as her friend walked away.

_She's more than a friend to me now… _Aris contemplated as he walked back.

_Elena is something else… Something more…_

Author's note: I must be becoming a romance writer or something! I need to get back onto the action. I'm just kidding, I quite like writing relationships; I like making them… Interesting. I've had a reasonable amount of practice attempting to write non-clichéd relationships now so I hope the quality of writing is good! Again, thank you very, very much for reading. The support is greatly appreciated and, as always, don't forget to rate and review. The next chapter shall be out soon.


	20. Friend or Enemy

Chapter nineteen – Friend or Enemy

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Dreams roiled through Aris' mind, tearing apart any comprehensive thoughts that his brain could form even in his unconscious state. He was used to this however, that is the nightmares; they taunted him many times, even several nights in a row, showing him ghostly apparitions of his parents calling out to him to be killed by an unseen foe.

Aris shot upright sweating profusely after one of these dreams. The youth stared at the wall opposite his bed, eyes large, before collapsing back down and shivering slightly from the cold creeping of the sweat as it snaked its way down his body.

_I knew I shouldn't have left the window open…_

Arelía did not reply unlike normally – she was asleep outside.

The dark haired youth sighed, _I'm so used to her now we're like two best friends who have known each other since childhood. Any mannerisms of hers I know, as she does for me. Like the fact that she likes being tickled in that certain spot behind her ear… Oh I wish she were awake now, it would give me someone to talk to._

A soft padding could be heard on the floorboards outside his room, _Huh… I wonder who'd be up at this time?_

Then a mutter of voices.

_Two people… hmm; oh well I'm not going to get back to sleep after that, I'll see who it is._

Slipping on some shoes and a light shirt Aris crept over to the edge of the inner balcony and peered down by the firelight where the two figures were sat in high backed chairs, the one that Durum often could be found in during the day. Although the voices could be heard now that Aris was closer and one of them was a rather rough tone so, taking care not to alert the two people, he crept along the upper corridor, making sure not to wake anyone, and down the stairs to the fireside.

Standing outside the radius of the firelight he could see now the people but he was almost certain they couldn't see him. One was Luthíen, that he could easily tell from her blonde hair and slim figure; the other Aris had never seen before. The guy was male, there was no doubt about that. Rather large muscles were visible through his light shirt which was similar to the one that Aris himself wore. They also stood rather tall, a few inches above Aris, and had deep brown hair that fell down to their eyes – which in turn were the colour of chestnuts.

Striding forward with confidence Aris stepped into the light of the kindling, "Morning you two, how come you're up so late?" He kept his voice down out of consideration of the others who were trying to rest.

"Aris!" Luthíen shouted; the other man there hushed her with a raised finger. "Sorry…" The blonde apologised meekly.

"It's okay." Aris reassured her, "Who's your friend?"

"I am Hildur. Good to meet you Aris," He proffered a hand which Aris shook although he did so with caution – very aware of the man's size. Hildur seemed to be slightly older than Aris and Luthíen, around twenty he thought, but with dragon riders it was incredibly difficult to tell especially since they didn't age like normal humans.

"Me and Luthíen were just having a private chat."

_Private chat? _Aris pondered the meaning of that but could not come up with a solution, at least not yet.

"I'm sorry to have interrupted, I just woke up too you see and came down to get a drink."

"Don't you have a pitcher in your room?" Luthíen said accusingly, startling Aris slightly with her vehemence.

"No, I do not." The dark haired youth retorted in a plain tone.

"Leave him be Luthíen, I'm intrigued to meet him and wish to talk with him also as you have mentioned him a few times albeit in a negative light…"

Ignoring the comment Aris asked, "How come I've never seen you before then Hildur? I thought I would have noticed you in and around the common room?"

"I don't like to associate with people normally; I prefer to talk out of the public's hearing where I won't be disturbed."

"Fair enough."

"Have you come to apologise to me as well then Aris?"

Aris gave her a curious look, "What do you mean?"

"Erm, for almost killing me? Ha, don't deny it Aris."

"I never did. I simply forgot; I've been rather busy and stressed these past few days so had completely forgotten, therefore here is my apology – sorry for almost killing you with the magic Luthíen, I hope you can forgive me."

The young female made a disgruntled noise but still accepted Aris' apology, "Hmpf, I accept then. But that doesn't mean I have to trust you in the future."

"I never said you did…" Aris knew that this was a lost endeavour, all he could really do now is try and respect this stubborn rider.

"Can you two please stop arguing? It'll wake everyone up and it's hardly apt for friends, as I assume you are friends, to be bickering away at this hour! Just realise that both of you are at fault okay."

"I suppose so." The dark haired youth said begrudgingly, Luthíen not uttering a word.

"Luthíen?" Hildur raised his voice greatly at the end of the sentence.

"Eugh okay; I'll forget all about it. There is that better?"

"Yes, you're not like yourself today Luthíen; I think if you go and have a lie down now and calm yourself I'm sure you can forgive Aris as he could not control himself. I'll have a talk to him."

Luthíen walked off in a strop, disappearing into the darkness of the room as Aris had done when entering earlier.

"Sorry about her, she's not been like that before…"

"Neither has she acted like that around me – she's my partner you see, we have the same teacher."

"Zaria I assume?"

"Yes, she is a good teacher."

"Indeed." Hildur agreed.

Aris then noted a small inscription in his skin, it was of a flying dragon breathing fire over an invisible object below. He was curious about what this was so he asked. "What's that on your arm? The little dragon thing." He made a motion to the drawing.

"That? Oh… Erm that's just my sort of motto or motif. I had it inscribed into my skin using a special ink, I think it may catch on."

Aris nodded in agreement, though the man's tone was one of uncertainty when he said the purpose of it as if he were trying to hide something from the person who stood near him. "I'm sure it will." The dark haired youth continued, keeping the conversation going. Then it hit him that he had heard that voice before, _The cult! The leader sounded just like Hildur… But it can't be him, that leader was much taller, and certainly even stronger, than this man… I really can't tell. _Aris did not even dare ask for fear that he would either insult or alert Hildur to his knowledge on certain matters, _Especially when Eragon told me to keep it a secret…_

"Anyway… I'm tired now; sorry we couldn't talk much but I'm sure I'll speak to you sometime soon."

"Of course. Good night Aris, sleep well." He felt the brown haired individual's stares boring into his back as he walked back to the stairs and up to his room. Collapsing onto the bed he stared at the ceiling pondering over what his new acquaintance – Hildur – had said; his motions, his speech was all rather familiar to Aris although he couldn't place it.

_I'm sure I'll remember in the morning. For now I need to decipher whether he's a friend or an enemy. _The youth thought to himself with bitterness as sleep overtook him once more, the cool night wind soothing his sore body as dreams clouded his mind…

Morning came and the sun began creeping over the edge of the balcony, waking many of the riders who slept on that side of the quarters. Yawning deeply Aris stretched, putting his arms behind his head, and got up, putting on the same, if slightly sweaty, top from when he had gone to speak to Hildur and Luthíen along with some fresh trousers and boots as he would be doing a fair amount of walking to get to his lesson today, of that he was certain.

_Morning Aris, sleep well? _Arelía knew the answer was no but she still enquired about her rider's health out of politeness anyway.

_I did thank you Arelía. I had a rather… Interesting conversation with a rather forward person called Hildur._

_Ah yes, I did sense you speaking with someone late in the night when I was half-asleep. One was Luthíen; I could feel her and her anger at you, and the other I didn't know._

_You wouldn't know him; I've never met him before but he seemed nice enough._

_Yes… I wouldn't trust him though little one, from your images in your mind of him he seems hostile to me. That's probably just me over reacting though…_

_I'm sure you're right Arelía after all you are a dragon and can sense these sort of things. I'll do as you say._

_Thank you little one. _Aris felt her gratitude for his cooperation coming through the link, along with some other emotions of love as a companion for him and even slightly Elena Aris noticed.

_Arelía… How come I just sensed that you love Elena? _Aris enquired curiously.

_Erm… I don't really know to tell you the truth. It must be our emotions or traits splitting across our link meaning that because you love her I love her too! Aww that's so sweet, you didn't even have to admit to liking her this time Aris, I can sense it now. _

Aris sighed mentally, _I do not fancy her, I like her, yes, but she is a friend. Nothing more. I'm only going along with it because of what you said._

_As you say Aris, as you say. A friend who is a girl yes? _Arelía asked, struggling not to burst out laughing at her own taunts.

_She is a girl yes; how did you know Arelía eh?_

_Lucky guess. _She admonished.

_Wow, I thought you were a very knowledgeable dragon Arelía! I never thought that one as wise as you would resort to guessing at something._

_Well I have. _

_Oh, I must bow down to you in my ignorance._

_Stop it Aris you're overdoing it now. _Arelía said, adding a threatening growl.

_Okay; sorry Arelía I was just teasing you. _He tickled the silver scaled dragon in that spot behind the ear where she liked. She hummed contentedly.

_Mmm that is nice. I think you'd best go and get something to eat before heading out; I'll speak to you soon Aris and meet you at that clearing. _She sent Aris an image of a secluded clearing not far from the main central building where the library resided; he identified the place almost immediately and made a note of it for later.

Picking up a bread roll and some fruit from the platter which lay to one side on the dresser the youth began to eat his breakfast as he walked along the corridor. In the daylight it appeared much more appealing and spacious than in the claustrophobic dark which he had walked along it in the night previous.

_I have to give it to the chefs, they can cook well. All the food I've had here is superb._

_Only the finest for the dragons and their riders I suppose; I doubt the cooking staff would want an angry fire breathing lizard knocking at their door every morning._

Aris chuckled, _I suppose not. Especially you, I know that you can get a bit grouchy when not properly fed._

_Watch your tongue little one, else you shall be the main course._

Again he laughed, _Sorry Arelía. I meant no insult._

_Good._

Elena suddenly rounded a corner on the top floor; Aris had nowhere to go to avoid her, besides jumping off the balcony of course, so he simply kept on walking head down. To his great surprise she walked straight past not even taking notice of him.

_What was all that about?_

_I don't know… I understand you don't want to talk to her after yesterday and her indirect insult but… I really don't know. Perhaps she can sense something? That you don't really like her or-_

_You said yourself Arelía – I am infatuated with her of sorts. That is in love. _Apparently _according to you this is the case. But even I'm confused._

_Leave her be for now Aris, she needs some time alone to think things over. A healthy relationship can't be made in a day, especially one that may span centuries._

Sudden regret gripped Aris' heart, _I always forget that we are destined to live forever… It's a sad thought is it not, that our friends and family will die whilst we weather time itself; it shouldn't be, it's not natural!_

_But it is little one; peace. You shall grow accustomed to it, of that I am sure. Unless someone puts a dagger in your gut but I'll make sure that won't happen._

_That's so reassuring… _Aris said with great sarcasm in his tone.

Arelía continued unhindered, _And you have lots more time with Elena! Oh all the teasing I can do. Where to begin…_

_Arelía. _The dark haired youth replied in warning.

_I'm kidding with you Aris. I wouldn't do that, there will be a point when we both become old and wise ourselves; not dissimilar to Eragon. No need to fret._

_Okay, I guess I overreacted._

_A bit. _

Down the stairs Aris went and found himself at the entryway face to face with Luthíen.

He greeted her cheerily. "Good morning."

"Morning to you too Aris." She seemed to have forgotten about their argument the night before.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I did thank you; although I did wake up in the middle of the night."

"Indeed; I'm sure you know that I did as well."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know." A slight silence fell over them; all that could be heard was the mumble of voices in the background as many riders arose to start their lessons also.

"Who was Hildur by the way? Is he a friend?"

Instead of answering Luthíen took Aris' arm and lead him outside out of earshot of the many people inside; even then she spoke in a hushed tone, "He is a friend yes, a family friend since very young. I have respect for him but I am not keen on his beliefs. If you didn't already know he is a rather violent man, even though he is only twenty or so he has fought countless battles also. On top of that he has almost supernatural powers, especially for a human rider. I'm uncertain of him."

"I have to admit I am as well… I can't tell whether he's a friend or enemy."

The blonde haired youth nodded in agreement, "Yes, I certainly agree."

"Agree on what?"

The pair jumped in shock; however, it was a female voice that spoke. "Zaria!" Aris exclaimed.

"Erm yes… It's time for your lesson now, and we aren't going to be using swords today." She grinned slightly at this.

Relief seeped into them as their fears were dissolved.

"Oh thank god. We thought you were someone else…" Aris said.

"Who may that be?"

Luthíen interjected at this point, "No one of consequence."

"Hmm okay. On to today's topic then; literature – I thought you may appreciate to do some more reading today like we have done in the past.

"I'd love that!" Luthíen said with enthusiasm.

"I would enjoy that too." Aris added.

"That is gratifying to hear; let us be off then!" Zaria led the way to where Arelía was waiting for them, as she knew ahead from her tutor where it was that the lesson would be held.

The lesson was interesting enough but Aris was constantly distracted by the thought of Elena and how she had blanked him earlier; the concern spread across to Arelía as well as she kept on bringing it up whilst Aris was trying to write something rather difficult in the runes that humans apparently used.

_I swear these are far too complicated for us to understand._

_You've already got a really good grasp of them Aris you're just anxious at the moment and not focusing, wanting to put the blame on something else._

_Anxious about what in particular?_

_Your relationship. _That was, the relationship between him and Elena.

The remainder of the day was rather uneventful simply being a normal lesson with his teacher and Luthíen, who seemed to hold less of a grudge against him now which the dark haired youth was pleased about as they were good friends after all.

In the evening he did not even bother going to talk to Durum or even find Elena; he was simply too exhausted and so collapsed on his bed, leaving the window on to the balcony open again to let a fresh draft in during the night to keep him cool, falling asleep almost instantly – Arelía's mind watching over his own…

Months drifted by normally, which was rather weird to Aris considering there was usually some sort of abnormal event occurring around him. He spoke to Elena a fair amount but their relationship advanced little; but still both of them called each other 'just friends'. This was not so much saddening as infuriating for Aris as he often tried to go that bit further although he couldn't quite work out how to advance. Arelía didn't know either as she was merely a dragon and dragons were no experts in the affairs of courting humans, even though it was her who persisted that they should be going out.

Again Arelía went through another growth spurt, now being as tall as most young dragons were which she was rather proud of. Strong muscles now rippled down her legs from much flying in her spare time – which was when Aris enjoyed going on many flights with her be it further down the valley or even up into the mountains. They even took Elena on one of these trips but after the first she did not seem keen to go again, although Aris could not for the life of him figure out why.

She avoided him less though, which was gratifying, and if both were awake late on in the evening they could be found talking, sometimes with Durum who added that extra sense of humour and depth to the conversation, deep into the night.

The time came though when a fair amount of training had been done, both in magic, that including communicating with his mind and subduing enemies – which Eragon went over many times so that Aris perfected it – and defending his own mind from assailants for apparently after a certain incident it was now custom to train riders in these matters at an early age.

One evening Aris was sat as was the norm in the centre of the common room chatting with Durum who was regaling him with yet another story from his years under Tronjheim – the dwarven city mountain which he often loved to talk about.

A hush settled over the whole quarters and even the most talkative of riders stopped their conversations as Eragon was striding down the middle of the room, Elena at his side.

_She looks worried. Very worried. _Aris thought to himself. Luthíen could also be seen now behind the elder rider as well as someone he didn't quite recognise. The person whom Aris did not know was a rather youthful man of around his age; however, he was quite unlike Hildur in his build. The light skinned, black haired youth seemed to be incredibly timid in appearance as he was shaking ever so slightly. One thing Aris also noted was that he had pointed ears.

_An elf? What's he doing here?_

_I don't know but this must be something serious; why else would Eragon have assembled all of you here together?_

_You know I know as little as you do on this matter Arelía; but I sense that we will be leaving… Prepare to fly._

_As you wish little one._

"Greetings Aris, Durum."

"Eragon sir! I am sorry I didn't realise that you would be gracing your presence here." Durum bowed his head to the floor in respect.

"I am not your superior Durum, now get up you're embarrassing me," Eragon said with a grim smile. "I suppose you are wondering why I'm here then?" He continued in a not overly loud tone so that only Aris, Durum and the others could hear.

"That we are. That is, I and Arelía are." Aris answered.

"Well, I ought to tell you. You see it is custom after a while of training that you are to go on a mission or errand of sorts so I am here to assign you, Elena, Luthíen and Ljósgeirr here a task of sorts. That is, to make diplomatic ties with the east as it was Finwë's duty to do so but he got… Distracted with other matters." Eragon glanced at Aris when he said this, "So you are to travel to this village and ask for their assistance in certain matters. Finwë shall accompany you in this endeavour as he has experience in these matters but you had best be careful as people who do not know riders can be rather… Hostile towards us."

"So you're wanting me to go back to my home, where there is a mad dictator ruling over everyone, and try and make diplomatic ties with him even though he knows perfectly well who I am? Yeh great plan."

"We shall sort that when the time comes; but for now this is your duty to do this. Aris, put your past behind you and see what is best for all of us." Eragon put his hand of Aris' shoulder to reassure the youth.

"No! I will not remind myself of my past! Nor who it involved."

The next part Eragon whispered so only Aris could hear, "But you don't know your past fully do you Aris? Tell me, do you have any memories before you were five, six years old?"

"Not that I can recall but what does this have to do about anything?"

"You will find out soon enough Aris… Soon enough." The elder rider raised his voice to address everyone now, leaving Aris speechless, "You leave at dawn tomorrow. Be prepared with a week's worth of supplies which will be left for you in the main building; Finwë will be your escort there. This is a test of both your endurance and knowledge of literature and ethics as being a rider is more than just conflict. Good day." With that Eragon left, leaving the whole group dumbfounded.

"Well! That was unexpected." Durum declared, attempting to lighten the mood.

"That is was." Luthíen agreed, "I suppose we have to go along with it though, what do you say Elena?"

"Yeh… We do." The brown haired female said with uncertainty in her voice.

"I'm hardly keen to go on this endeavour" Aris added, "It's just too… Extreme."

"Eragon ordered us to do it Aris, it would be unwise to go against that." Luthíen retorted.

"I suppose you're right; we'd best get ready then. See you all tomorrow." With that he walked off to find Arelía who was waiting patiently outside, already aware of the announcement. She opened one large silver eye which gleamed in the fading light of the early evening.

_So, returning home. It should be… Interesting to say the least to see your hometown._

_They don't know what they're letting themselves in for. We'll be slaughtered; that man, the one who ruled his little domain as a despot, is a powerful and deadly foe even to us now and I have known that since I was young. He is too strong for a normal human. Let's just hope that we, and several other riders, can negotiate with him._

_I think what Eragon means is general diplomatic ties; not just in your hometown. You may go to a city say or somewhere else._

_But the only place they know of in the east is where I'm from Arelía! _He sighed in exasperation, _Perhaps we may find a city but I've never heard of any._

_You were only a slave at the time Aris, and were rather innocent to the world as your memories show._

_My past! My past! Who cares? No one! It means nothing to me, nothing! I started anew here and don't want to be troubled by past cares and wants. _He sliced his hand through the air, _that past life was a horror and should be left behind me and as before I was five I don't even know who I was!_

_Peace little one; you shall know soon. For now just remember – the past is behind us, the future is out of our control and the present is all that matters._

…

Aris cut off the link and stormed off into the forest out of anger at the whole situation. He heard footsteps coming up behind him so he swirled around angry and shouted, "What do you want?!"

It was Ljósgeirr.

"H-Hello Aris. I was just coming to say hello to you and get to know you, you seem to be a nice person… I suppose."

"What do you want?" Aris mustered whilst concealing tears.

"Oh… I just said, to say hello. You seem upset, I'll leave you alone for now." The young elf began to walk off but Aris stopped him with a short bark of 'wait.'

"Sorry I snapped it's just difficult for me… I was a slave once, as I'm sure you know, and my past keeps on coming back. One that was torturous to say the least. Remembering those days spent in the mines underground with that brute who I killed… I never meant to."

Ljósgeirr walked over and sat himself down next to Aris, putting an arm around his shoulder, "I understand that we are not well acquainted but if I can help at all I will. Or at least try…" The timid tone in the elf's voice came back once more.

"It's fine… Absolutely fine, well I have to go along with it eh? Anyway I'd rather be left alone now; we'll speak more tomorrow."

"As you wish. I hope you realise that you shouldn't allow the past to haunt you; I of all people should know that." And as those final words were uttered the elf disappeared into the depths of the forest before Aris could even ask what he meant.

_Oh well… I'd best calm down, it's not right to be like this. Arelía is probably right… I'm too stubborn for my own good. _He thought bitterly, getting up and heading back to his room to rest for the night – as tomorrow would be a momentous day.

Author's note: Oh… My… Gosh… 4,500 words in one chapter. I must have gone insane! With all of this moral and ethical talk… It confirms my fears as well. Never mind; there are some juicy plot twists lined up in the coming chapters I hope so those should be entertaining. I decided, as a 20th chapter special, to write an extra, bumper long chapter for you guys and girls! Even though this is chapter 19 I am including the prologue in this :p Hope you appreciate it :3 Thanks very much for reading, apologies for any spelling mistakes or incomprehensible parts of the plot but I am willing to change them if needs be. Don't forget to rate and review and I hope the next chapter shall be out soon, if all bodes well with college!

Note: A quick shout out to Kate (who is a guest reviewer so I don't think I can reply to the reviews by PM) Just saying thanks for the reviews :p


	21. Disputes

Chapter twenty – Disputes

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Aris rose early so he could finish his preparations for the departure; seeing as he had avoided doing so the night before instead choosing to… As he liked to put it _contemplate life choices. _

Arelía was sympathetic towards her rider knowing that he was wound taut like a bow string ready to snap from the immense tension building up inside of him. She wished him a good morning before setting off to help him saddle her up with all the supplies that they would need for themselves, the others having their dragons take their own supplies also.

_Are you feeling better now Aris?_

_I am thank you Arelía. _The dark haired youth replied curtly, _Where are we meeting then?_

_The grand hall I think Finwë is already there saddled and prepared to depart._

_Good, the sooner everyone is ready the sooner we can leave. _Aris stated Arelía made an abrupt mental nod to show her agreement.

Quickly now Aris headed to the hall to meet up with Arelía, for he was anxious to see her again after his outburst the last night; the walk was short, taking only fifteen minutes, but he encountered no one. Even though the hour was early he suspected to have at least seen some riders or elves wandering about the forest. His doubts were soon quelled as he noticed many were gathered in the central clearingstaring in amazement at the host that waited there.

Dragons, several of them, all lay down on the short grass in front of the massive building making it seem much smaller than Aris normally perceived it as – the dragon's size making the hall shrink in comparison. He instantly noticed Arelía, her silver scales gleaming in the early morning light, along with Saphira – Eragon's dragon – and Promethia in her light blue magnificence. No other dragons had arrived yet but Aris could sense them approaching from all directions.

However, there was one person whom Aris was both amazed and please to see more than all. Finwë stood next to his dragon patting her flank. They walked over to each other.

"Aris" The elf muttered.

"Finwë" Aris replied in kind.

"It's been too long Aris. How has your training been going?"

"Good. It's been good…"

"You sound uncertain, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing's wrong." He patted Finwë on the shoulder to reassure him.

"I can see that look in your eyes Aris; it's not about your lessons that you are worried? It's something else, something you believe to be more important." The elf chuckled.

_Can he read my mind? _Aris quickly checked his mental defences, _No, good. It must be my expression._

_I think it is little one. I'm looking at you now and even I can tell what you're thinking about._

_Oh okay…_

"Don't worry Aris, I won't tell anyone about your little love interest," He looked past Aris now to someone in the distance. It was Elena who was striding across the clearing towards them.

"I think everyone already knows." Aris said in a withdrawn tone.

"I doubt that is the case; I know more than most about what goes on in this place of safety, our sanctuary from the world outside. Are you ready to depart?"

"I need to collect some things and saddle up Arelía but once that is done we should be able to depart."

"Indeed. Ah here's Ljósgeirr now."

The dark haired elf was walking towards them behind Elena who had almost reached Finwë and Aris; the younger elf raised a hand in greeting which the other returned with a friendly and warm smile.

"Morning Aris." Elena said warmly enough but with a hint of slight anger or fear in her tone, Aris couldn't quite decipher which. "Who is your friend?"

"This is Finwë, don't you remember him? The one who was with me in Elrohir's office when I first arrived here. That was when you helped me out of course."

"Oh yes, I recall seeing you briefly. Good to finally speak to you properly Finwë."

"You too Elena; Aris has been telling me all about you."

"Oh has he now well-"

"No I haven't! We just started talking." Aris protested.

Finwë cast him a glare which Elena didn't see, "Haha, always the joker aren't you Aris?" His laugh was riddled with annoyance.

"Oh yes, of course I was saying how good you were at magic." He said half-heartedly.

"Aris that's ever so sweet of you." She hugged him lightly, "At least I didn't crush you this time,"

"It always helps." The youth admonished, "Anyway I'll go and grab my things whilst everyone else arrives.

"Do you want me to help Aris?" Finwë suggested keenly.

"Sure, why not?"

The two of them walked off into the large building and to the kitchens where the supplies waited. They were on the bottom floor to keep them out of the way of the residential and study areas of the hall. Several large bags awaited them which contained everything that Aris would need for a long journey on dragon back.

He thanked the elves and humans who worked in the kitchen for preparing everything before heading back outside.

"Your speech is very eloquent now Aris; I could tell that you were academically gifted since I met you. The way you spoke to Elena back there was impressive, very impressive."

"It wasn't anything special. All I did was replied politely and listen to her."

"Exactly what you need to do Aris." The elf stated poignantly, "You have come on so much from the young slave boy I saved all that time ago… And we are to head back there now and I'm sure there shall be some nostalgia and some certain strange things there. Let us hope that we can fulfil the purpose of the mission."

"I hope so too…"

_Even though it is most likely we shall be attacked on site. _He thought to himself, Arelía obviously hearing but not commenting.

"We'd best get back to everyone else, don't want to keep them waiting."

When they returned outside the crowd had doubled in size, many young riders now clustered in little groups staring with wide eyes at the now larger host of dragons; for Ljósgeirr's dragon, a medium sized green beast, had arrived along with Heleth - her crimson scales contrasting the more vibrant colours of dragons such as Promethia and Arelía.

"Ah good, all of you are here except Luthíen. I wonder where she is." Eragon said, glancing behind him to see if Luthíen was in fact coming.

"We'll wait a few more minutes for her." The elder rider announced.

As soon as he had finished that sentence another green dragon now descended upon the clearing from the canopy above with a rider sat upon its scaled back. Luthíen, with her blonde hair flowing in the wind behind her, landed Soreth in the group of other dragons creating a large thud whilst doing so.

"Morning everyone." She said dismounting Soreth who was already saddled and ready to depart.

"Ah Luthíen we have been expecting you; I can see that you are ready to leave."

"Yes, I just need to grab something to eat then we can depart."

"Here." Finwë passed her a small bread roll and an apple, "Have these. I don't want them."

"Oh… Thank you. You must be Finwë then."

"That I am. And you are Luthíen?"

"I am. Aris has mentioned you a few times before."

The elf laughed, "I expect he has. After all I did save him from almost certain death."

"Did you? Well for that I have your thanks else I wouldn't have had a partner to train with, if one that is rather at stubborn at times."

Again he laughed, "Aris? Stubborn? I never would have guessed."

"What did you say Finwë?" Aris enquired, walking slightly closer to him and Luthíen.

"Oh nothing Aris. Don't you worry." He patted the dark haired youth on the head mockingly.

Luthíen just shook her head and chuckled lightly before heading to talk to Eragon.

"Can you not tell everyone that I'm really stubborn please? I know you've not seen me for ages but that's no reason for you to tease me. And since when were you not serious?" Aris asked in an overly loud whisper.

"I've spent far too long sitting around with nothing to do, I had to make some entertainment."

"Fair enough."

Elena now approached with a rather stern look on her face.

"Ah hello again Elena. Want to talk to Aris again?" He nudged the dark haired youth.

"I do yes. Aris, come with me."

_I wonder what's wrong with her… She seemed slightly angry before but not this annoyed._

She did not take his arm but instead let Aris trail behind as she walked off into a small cluster of trees secluded from the rest of the clearing. The thick wall of leaves and branches muffled the sounds from outside but also prevented Aris from contacting anyone – as with his disability the surface was too thick to make mental contact through.

"What do you want to talk about Elena? You seemed just fine before."

"It's about you." She turned around and prodded him in the chest, Aris retreating slightly, "And your stubbornness."

"What of it?"

"The fact that you don't give anyone else any consideration; your opinions are the most important thing to you. For example – when Eragon announced this mission you were against it because _you _didn't want to go."

"That's because if we all go we'll be killed!"

"No we will not! Why would Eragon send us?"

Aris had never seen Elena like this, well not really. He feared for his life now with her in this state.

"Because he is unaware of it all."

Elena sighed, "Never mind... You seem to be the naïve one in all of this. Anyway I want to say," She struggled to say the next part of the sentence, as if the words were being uttered by someone else, "that I won't go any further with you until you release that stubbornness of yours and come to terms with the fact that others have opinions."

"Strange thing Elena;" Aris said, defending his position, "I have lived on my own for several years fending for my own life! How can you expect me to care for others when no one cared for me?"

"What about your parents?" Elena retorted.

"Father, dead. Mother, most likely dead."

"Well I'm sorry to hear that."

"You should be. I shan't talk to you then until you can come to terms with the fact that I am how I am. If you don't want me to be like this you don't want to be with me – it's as simple as that."

"Fine! Good bye Aris son of none. Best of luck on the mission."

With that she stormed off.

Aris could not hear what Arelía was saying but he felt the hate and resentment for what he had just done pouring through their link; he had to confront Arelía about it though as it was his decision to say those things to Elena, even if he had been slightly rash about it.

_I am too hard hearted for my own good… And I turn on people too fast when they accuse me of something. It's like I have some kind of bipolar personality. _He thought bitterly.

_I'm sure you don't have that; anyway there's nothing you can do now little one. All you can do is try to forgive and forget._

_Forgive? Forgive her for what? Confronting me then insulting me?_

Arelía sighed, _I give up…_

Her rider didn't even reply he was so shocked; never had Arelía given up on him in any matter before it was a foreign concept. She had always been there to help him or aid him but now he was alone in this matter with Elena.

Heading back into the clearing once more Aris observed the group that lay before him admiring the dragons, trying to forget about Elena for the moment.

Eragon called to him, "Aris, come over here." The dark haired youth jogged over to Eragon, "I want to say sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Aris asked with surprise in his tone.

"For being inconsiderate towards you; I should have understood that you would not be keen to return to your past. But-" He paused for effect, in this time Aris noted Elena listening in with a scowl on her face, "It is important you learn about your past. There are some things that can be… Uncovered given the right resources and time."

"Okay…"

"You seem worried Aris but you shouldn't be so. You were just being yourself."

The elder rider then left Aris contemplating the meaning of that sentence as he went to check that everyone else was prepared for the long flight ahead of them.

Once Eragon had checked around everyone and decided that the supplies were packed and other such things ready for departure he walked into the centre of the small circle of dragons and amplified his voice, with what Aris assumed was some kind of spell, so that everyone in the clearing could hear.

"Today witnesses the beginning of another mission for the dragon riders. Our promising young students, Elena, Luthíen, Ljósgeirr and Aris along with their dragons Heleth, Soreth, Feranth and Arelía; also Finwë our ex-ambassador shall accompany them with his dragon Promethia. I wish them fare well and good luck!"

The announcement ended and several groups slowly made their way back to their various abodes but still many people remained waiting for the spectacle of the dragons taking off. There were several wide eyed children in parent's arms looking at the riders with awe; Aris did not know that children resided at the sanctuary but he assumed they must be the sons and daughters of dragon riders, with the slight irony that they were amazed at the dragons yet their parents may well have their own dragons themselves.

Everyone mounted their dragon and looked around checking that everyone was ready. Aris fastened his leg and feet straps so that he was secure in the saddle before glancing across to Finwë who nodded an affirmative before Promethia took to the skies.

_To the skies Arelía! Our fate lies ahead! _Aris shouted mentally to his dragon as she took to the heavens above towards the foe that had once been, and still was. The most deadliest foe in the whole land.

The past.

Author's note: A rather abrupt sentence to end there. Anyway just a quick note about the upcoming updates; I've already planned out the last 10 or so chapters for the story but I'm writing about one a week at the moment I'd say. However, I am getting Guild Wars 2 on Wednesday so I'm going to be on that quite a bit; it's just forewarning you guys in case I don't release a chapter next weekend. As for college it's going well. I'm managing to get all my work done during college hours so I'm completely free once I get home to write, play Skyrim and Guitar Hero (soon GW2 too :p) and do whatever I want. So to summarise apologies for any lack of updates for the next few weeks but you can blame ArenaNet. But anyway I'll try my best to write a chapter a week. Again, thanks for reading and putting up with my long author's notes, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out soon! Ish.

Note: I edited this slightly to try and make if better, thought you guys and girls may want to know :p


	22. Around the Campfire

Chapter twenty one – Around the Campfire

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

The flight was long and arduous.

Aris was not used to flying on dragon back for any long periods of time so after several hours he became rather uncomfortable due to saddle sores. Arelía talked to him to distract her rider from the nagging pain that was there almost constantly although her efforts were in vain. When they landed for the evening Aris had difficulty standing properly but Finwë, very kindly, helped him over to a fallen trunk of a large oak tree where he could perch on next to the fire that Luthíen was constructing.

He spotted Elena laying out everyone's bedrolls, which the group had passed to her, on the other side of the small encampment that they had made. When she saw him looking at her she averted her gaze, pretending to inspect a rock on the ground. Ljósgeirr walked up to her and began helping her, Elena smiling at him. Rage began building up inside Aris at the elf's insolence until Arelía intervened.

_Peace Aris, give her time. She'll realise._

_I hope so… _He replied sullenly, returning to his stoic position watching over everyone.

Once the relevant tasks had been completed the small group of five, along with the dragons, gathered around the too small campfire whilst eating their dinner. It consisted of some rather strange looking plants and more bread along with even more fruit.

Arelía sniffed at the fruit with distaste, _Eugh all this fruit. I don't know how you humans can survive with it. _She projected mentally to everyone.

Finwë was the only one to laugh at the silver scaled dragon's remark. "A true thing for a dragon to say Arelía! Often has Promethia complained about that exact thing."

_Indeed I have. _The light blue dragon added, _you need meat as part of your diet. Even I as a dragon know that. I really can't comprehend how you can survive on those pitiful plant meals._

They continued eating in silence until the last bite had been consumed at the last draught of water downed; then did Finwë start up the conversation, "Okay. We are around two days ride from the," He glanced at Aris quickly before reverting his gaze to the rest of the group, "place where we need to go. Now when we arrive we are to land a fair ways from the town and walk in for we don't want to give away our identity as dragon riders immediately. After that we walk up to the main building and try and seek an audience with this leader to try and establish diplomatic ties with him. Let me do the talking and all of you can listen to gain experience in these matters – that is why there are so many of you here."

"The leader is called Hagnar." Aris stared at the ground when saying this, the syllables like the toll of a requiem.

"Hagnar?" Ljósgeirr asked.

"Yes. I know what he's like. We have to be careful if we want an audience with him, a large group is sure to attract his attention to us. No one travels in such large parties through the tundra that surrounds the town as Finwë originally did when he came on his own is how we should appear."

"So what amazing plan do you propose then?" Elena said venomously.

"I am not proposing a plan Elena, I am merely warning you of what the dangers of the mission are." Aris countered.

"Well you seemed to be to me." The brown haired youth retorted.

"Shut it! Both of you!" Finwë interjected before the argument escalated. "I think what Aris said it very useful to know Elena; so he should be listened to." She tried to interrupt the elf but he raised a hand to silence her, "I think if I go in first then Luthíen and Ljósgeirr follow up behind," He motioned to each person in turn, "we should quell any doubts by the people. Promethia, Soreth, Arelía, Heleth and Feranth you are to wait nearby in case of danger. Aris and Elena if you circle the area with Heleth you can spot any dangers and contact me; we'll make a mental link between the ten of us for ease of contact. This is our plan, okay?"

"Yes." Everyone answered, nodding also.

"Good. Now we had best rest for tomorrow and the day after are long flights which you will need your wits about you for."

Everyone rose wearily and headed to their respective bedding spots, the dragons choosing to sleep around the edge of the group for both protection and convenience. Aris collapsed onto his bedroll as he was too tired and in too much pain to talk to anyone; sleep overcame him quickly as he laid back and stared into the sky, the clear night sky allowing his perfect vision of the stars…

Morning came and Aris still felt as weary as he had done the night before; however, the pain in his things had lessened and he was keen to get flying again. The group hastily ate the breakfast, which was cold as making a fire in the current climate would have been too difficult, before heading out on the journey.

As Arelía flew Aris noticed some places he recognised in the formation of the landscape – a waterfall for instance which Finwë had shown him on the way to the riders sanctuary. The hills which now rose up out of the ground standing several hundred meters above sea level; they rolled into the horizon where nothing except a few snowy mountains could be spotted.

Arelía was intrigued to find out all about the landscape of the world for she had never travelled outside of the rider's home before. It was now Aris who explained all the finer points of geography to his dragon which he found rather amusing, considering it was he who was the student not so long ago. Finwë joined in the conversation part way through by using mind-speak. He contributed to Aris' knowledge and added his own twist on it which both Aris and Arelía found equally as interesting.

When they landed again on the second night the hills had now become small mountains and there were patches of snow lying around the small sheltered hollow which Luthíen had spotted for use as an encampment. The air was chilly around the campfire creating a cold atmosphere within the group which didn't help Elena and Aris' relations at all. In fact they didn't even speak to each other after the previous night's outbreak and this made Aris all the less keen to be scouting with her the following day.

_I hope she's not acting up tomorrow else it's going to be a long day…_

_That it is; at least I can get some rest back with Promethia and the others._

_Don't count on it. _Aris warned, _You never know what's going to happen._

_I know little one… I'm just being optimistic._

The next day came quickly for Aris as he went to sleep, and woke, earlier than everyone else. He went for a walk to ease the pain in his legs before returning to the camp and eating his measly breakfast which Ljósgeirr served up. After they had eaten the group departed immediately out of haste to get to the town before lunchtime so there was adequate time to conduct discussions.

After several hours of flying a sight appeared in the distance which Aris never thought he would witness again during his life – his home town. It did not have a name as such, for Hagnar had never bothered to name the place, but he knew it was home from the ramshackle buildings and that it was the only settlement for miles around. He even thought he recognised his own home although he couldn't be sure as all of the buildings looked rather similar – made out of rotting wood and several stories high. A shiver ran down his spine when he laid eyes on the place, Arelía also seeming slightly scared and in awe of how people could even live there.

_There it is, my home town. _Aris said through the group's mental link which they had established that very morning. _Shall we land once we get close and organise ourselves?_

_That would be best. _Luthíen answered.

_Yes, it would. _Finwë added, _Remember – I'm going alone into the town whilst Luthíen and Ljósgeirr follow up if all goes well. Elena and Aris you two scout above with Heleth. Clear?_

_All clear. _Everyone answered in synch.

The dragons rapidly descended towards the snow coated ground, the gusts of wind whipping Aris' long hair into his face which blinded the youth slightly. Arelía landed with a loud thud sending snow flying several feet into the air from the force of the impact; the other dragons quickly followed suit coating everyone in the thick snow from the frosted ground.

"Okay we can walk from here. I'll head in first." Finwë stated, donning a thick hooded travelling cloak and disappearing into the distance leaving the young riders behind on their own. Luthíen took charge, delegating jobs with obvious experience.

"Right Aris, Elena, Heleth you head off now and keep an eye on Finwë we don't want him getting attacked without us knowing. Me and Ljósgeirr shall head off in half an hour or so to follow up okay?"

"Yes Luthíen."

"Good; I'll see you soon Aris and Elena. Best of luck."

"Good luck to you too!" Elena called cheerily from her position in front of Aris who sat behind her on Heleth's crimson scaled back.

_Here goes nothing. _Aris thought as Heleth flapped her wings and ascended into the sky over the town of the old dictator.

Author's note: apologies for the slightly shorter chapter but I thought it appropriate to end it there as the next chapter or two should be rather interesting. It was quite a rushed chapter as I am quite bad at writing journey sequences and always end up missing out on a lot of detail. Anyway, that's enough criticising myself for now. Thanks again for reading, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out soon!

Note: I released this today as I get Guild Wars 2 tomorrow and shall be quite busy for the coming days with other things too. It's also only a short chapter so I should upload another one this weekend fingers crossed.


	23. Distant Truths

Chapter twenty two – Distant Truths

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

"There it is." Aris called from his mount behind Elena on Heleth's back. He pointed towards the rising smoke column from the lone chimney of the large building at the head of the town – the others not having proper fires as such.

Elena simply nodded in acknowledgement of the statement.

"I'm going to cast an invisibility spell to conceal us from any soldiers that might see us from below, okay?"

Again she nodded.

_I need to remember that spell that Eragon taught me now._

_I can help you little one, let me lend you my strength. _Arelía fed a steady amount of energy into Aris warming his chilled extremities whilst giving him the power to perform the spell.

_Thank you Arelía._

The dark haired youth recalled the required phrases and began chanting slowly in the ancient language. He formed a rather complex spell adapting the environment around him, Elena and Heleth to simply wash over them, bending the rays of light. In essence it was an invisibility spell but it was slightly more complicated than just saying _turn us invisible _in the ancient language – as Eragon had taken much time to explain to him.

Once the incantation was successful, which took him a few tries, he suddenly felt a strange sensation wash over him. When he looked down he could see the ground rushing by underneath his feet; the sudden vertigo of the situation gripped him and he almost threw up, but he managed to supress the urge as random flying vomit was sure to give away their position to Hagnar.

"Good job Aris." Elena said, turning around to him.

"Oh… Erm… It was nothing." He said, unsure of what to say to her unexpected response.

They returned to a rather awkward silence again as Elena simply stared out over the barren landscape from her position at the front of the saddle.

"There he is." Elena must have pointed towards the ground somewhere but as they were invisible Aris could not see whom she was motioning to.

"Elena. We're invisible, I can't see where you're pointing."

"Oh sorry. I was pointing to Finwë down there in the hooded travelling cloak, you see him?"

Aris scanned the ground for the elf and managed to locate him, after around half a minute of looking; he was walking at quite a pace through the centre of town towards the large building at the head of the settlement.

"Fly lower Heleth." Her rider said, leaning in and whispering it into her ear.

_As you wish. _Slowly Aris felt themselves tilting slightly downwards as they angled towards the buildings to get a clearer view of where Finwë was walking to, and from.

When they neared the building Heleth levelled off again and began gliding around fifty feet above the rooftops, maintaining her height well due to her large wings catching the air with ease. Aris noted the open shutters on the windows and how many people were staring into the street with their heads sticking out of the windows watching Finwë walk past, he being the only person outside at the moment due to the large amounts of snow that came tumbling past their faces obscuring both Aris', Elena's, Heleth's and everyone else's vision of the goings on in the streets.

_Pull up now Heleth. _Elena said mentally so as not to alert the citizens to their presence.

Once they had retreated to a fair height Aris spoke, "Phew that was tense. Shall I contact Ljósgeirr and Luthíen now? Finwë may need back up."

"No, if even more people come running through it's sure to alert everyone to our presence. Leave Finwë to it I'm sure he can manage everything."

They fell back slightly, to around cloud level, and began circling the town for several hours watching to see if Finwë needed any assistance. After getting to the lofty heights of the clouds Aris contacted the rest of the group to say that everything was going okay so far and that no help would be needed.

Staring down at the panorama below him Aris was sure he recognised it from somewhere, although he couldn't quite recall. _It's like something out of a dream I had… I'm sure I've been here. Do you have any idea Arelía?_

_I am afraid not Aris. I am as clueless as you in this matter. I'm sure it's just the fact that it looks similar to the tundra we have been flying over recently._

_You're probably right._

There was little, if any, conversation in the following hours after Finwë entered the mansion and began the verbal debates – ones which could be the most deadly in the world.

Aris cut the flow of magic to the concealment spell after a while as he saw no need for it, due to the fact that the clouds concealed a dragon well enough. Elena, very kindly, made a field of heat around them to keep their bodies warm from the chilled conditions of the upper atmosphere. Aris made sure to thank her for this but she did not seem to acknowledge his pleasantries.

After several more hours of endless circling Aris was about to fall asleep in the saddle due to having to use magic and the fact that the repetitive flying pattern was wearing on him. As he drifted in to land a mental shout suddenly reached them all.

_Get out! They've found us!_

Then nothing.

Suddenly, about ten seconds after the mental message was sent from the person, who must have been Finwë as he was the only person in their mental link with that voice, a huge sucking sound came collapsing the building inwards then a massive explosion.

"Finwë! What's happened?"

"Forget about that, we're going to get caught in the explosion!" Elena shouted, not bothering to turn around to speak to Aris, "Fly Heleth! Get away quickly!"

_I shall hurry Elena._

Heleth began flapping her wings as hard as possible to get away from the huge eruption of mana, which Aris could sense now from the sort of natural feel around it, slowly did the dragon rise above the clouds once more and head back towards the clouds.

"It's going to get us!" Aris shouted.

Elena sighed in resignation, "We can't escape… Heleth. Turn around." She said quietly, a sense of finality in her tone.

"But we'll get incinerated!" The dark haired youth protested.

"I know what I'm doing Aris. Now shut up."

Slowly did she chant in the tongue of the grey folk, gradually speeding up as the spell became more and more complicated and even Aris couldn't understand its meaning. Heleth dived into the waves of air that were being thrown outwards from the explosion but none of it seemed to harm them; it simply passed to either side like someone parting water.

"Elena!" Aris shouted, struggling to hear himself over the billowing racket of the wind. "What are you doing?!"

She did not answer, for she was intently focused on one thing – staying alive.

Suddenly Aris received a message from Arelía, _What's going on in there little one?! We cannot see you, there's a huge cloud around the town._

_I don't know Arelía… Did you hear Finwë's message?_

_That I did. We've had to restrain Promethia, she was in a fit wanting to come after you... The death of her rider seems to have driven her insane._

_Yes. Well… I don't know… Keep yourself safe Arelía, me and Elena can handle this._

_I hope… _Was the reply, fear evident in the dragon's tone. That made Aris scared.

Still did Elena stare forward blankly, hand raised with her palm glowing from the use of magic. All of a sudden the cloud of red billowing smoke cleared and Aris witnessed a monstrous site.

The whole town lay in ruins; houses shattered into smithereens. People dead, or so he assumed except no one was there… It was if they had all been obliterated into nothingness.

_Mother! Oh no… Now I've lost her too…_

She could not have survived the explosion, even if she wasn't there Aris was sure she was dead or near to it. No one could see this and live except them… Magic had saved them.

_And I always thought magic and riders were a myth. Here I am now. Part of a myth._

Elena slowed Heleth down with mental encouragement and got the crimson scaled dragon to land at what they thought was the centre of the town – as the grand fountain had somehow survived the blast. They landed and dismounted in front of the impressive monument, Aris letting Elena get off first before he followed up and scanned the area. As he looked around nostalgia crept into his body, almost bringing him to tears.

_This is where I got separated from my dad… _He thought bitterly, further analysing the other parts of the town that remained. One thing that had remained mostly intact was the large hall – Hagnar's residence – at the end of the street.

"We could go and find Finwë!" Aris thought, accidentally shouting his idea to Elena.

"He's dead." She said simply, Heleth letting out a mournful moan.

"Why?! We can save him!" Aris was angry now at Elena's lack of help in this most dire situation.

She turned to face him now, staring right into his eyes with a hardness he had never witnessed in one such as her before, "Do you know what caused that explosion Aris?"

"No I do not!"

"It was Finwë! He's dead Aris! When an elf or rider dies all the energy that was stored in their body explodes outwards creating a huge cloud of energy which destroys anything and anyone in its path!"

"He can still be saved!" The youth was desperate now, clawing at any opportunity to save his elf friend.

Elena sighed, "He is _dead. _Kaput. Deceased. You cannot save him Aris. Nobody can."

A wave of despair washed over Aris bringing him to tears, _Now is not the time Aris! _Arelía shouted, anger evident at her rider, _Calm yourself! Find who did this and kill him!_

_I shall little one. Revenge shall be ours. _

Slowly Aris began to walk towards the large building where he knew Hagnar would be, if he had survived. He could even sense something amid all the wreckage although he could not identify what it was.

"Aris wait!" Elena came chasing after him, "Don't! That guy is almost certainly dead!"

"He is not dead."

"Aris! Even if that is the case revenge will not solve anything! It'll just end up with you having revenge taken out on _you,_ it's a never ending circle."

"I don't care." He retorted in a deep menacing tone, still walking towards the building.

"Stop!" Elena stood in front of Aris, blocking his path forward with her arms stretched to either side.

"Save yourself Elena. You deserve life more than me." He pushed her aside leaving the brown haired youth speechless as Aris continued walking forwards undeterred by Elena's tirade.

Approaching the building Aris noted a movement among the destroyed side of the hall; planks lifting themselves to reveal a person who clambered out of the rubble of Finwë's death.

_No… No, no, no… He has cheated death…_

"Ah Aris! How quaint, you have your little girlfriend with you. I never knew slaves were allowed to marry or be engaged!" The man who had just climbed up the wreckage bellowed down the street, his voice seemingly amplified by magic.

"Hagnar! I'll make you pay for this! _Thrysta!"_

Nothing happened.

"Haha! Foolish riders, your spells do not work on me! I have so many wards that some are for things unknown! You could not even touch me without dying foolish boy!"

_Careful where you tread Aris, the sand may be deeper in some parts than others. _Heleth said, slight awe and fear in her voice.

The dragon's advice caused Aris to change his approach, "That may be so. But how did you survive? And why do you acknowledge me now? I have many questions to ask Hagnar, some regarding the death of some people close to me."

"Ah, you mean your friend Finwë? He was a good diplomat but a shrewd one. I could tell he was trying to trick me from the moment he entered my room. Let's just say he's with Dwayana now! Hahaha!"

"This guy's insane Aris! Get away now!"

"No Elena! You escape, quickly before he gets you too!"

"Gets her? Oh yes, she was make a good private maid. Those pretty cheeks, nice chest hmm… Yes you would do."

"You're a sick man Hagnar." Aris shouted, trying not to spit in distaste whilst speaking.

"A sick man? Finwë was the one who destroyed the whole village. I'm sure your parents would be proud of your bravery, they themselves were brave… Until I stole from them what they held closest."

"You killed my parents!"

"Oh, he doesn't know! Now _this _is rich. The boy who has knowledge of invisibility spells and tricks of the mind yet he doesn't know of his true parentage; how naïve you are Aris son of Sven."

"My father wasn't called Sven!"

"He wasn't!" Elena added, now at Aris' side in support.

"What are you doing here Elena? I told you to save yourself, do you not understand." He whispered quickly across to her.

"I do. But I can't exactly go anywhere; besides you need help if we are both to get out of this alive."

"But he was. Did you never wonder who owned this domain before I? Did you never wonder why you were so well spoken and so intelligent? Or the fact that you were a dragon rider, although that was partially due to coincidence, I am very aware of. It was your parents who owned the hall Aris. They were what I was, the lord and lady of Hallow Vale."

Aris stood in shock, unable to move whilst he tried to come to terms with the realisation that his whole life up to this point had been a lie. He could sense Arelía's amazement as well but he blocked that out focusing on helping himself to work out this strange revelation.

"I see you are shocked Aris; I am not surprised at that. But… Do you want me to tell you what happened to your parents hmm?"

Elena continued the conversation for her friend, noticing that he wasn't going to answer, "Why don't you just die!"

"Elena it won't work! He has wards!" The dark haired youth was too late…

The brown haired youth uttered a short sentence in the ancient language; nothing happened to Hagnar he simply remained standing as confident as ever, however Elena collapsed to her knees depleted of energy.

"Ah. The young ones, always so full of confidence and vigour; yet to realise that they are not the most powerful beings in this world. You see, I wield true power,"

As Hagnar raised his arm Aris noted a small marking on his upper arm in dark ink; one which seemed to be similar to Hildur's.

"Stop!" Aris shouted.

Hagnar lowered his arm, "Why should I? You have intruded on my property and I have the right to kill you on the spot."

"Because… Because… What's that symbol on your arm?" Aris said, trying to stall the despot.

_Arelía, help._

_Promethia wants to kill him Aris. _She said gravely.

_Let her. It's our only hope._

_As you wish…_

"Oh this little thing?" The man motioned to the small patch of swirling dark ink, "It shows I'm part of the dragon cult. I'm surprised that you do not know of it, you have met one of its members."

"Hildur…"

"Why yes, and a good man he is. Truly knowing that humans, not just riders, should be given power beyond that of the gods! There are many others in our little group; along with several riders unknown to your petty little sanctuary and Eragon. I know about your little meeting with our group. Did you ever wonder who invented the mind wiping spell?"

"You… You erased my memories when I was younger!"

"Hahahaha, ahhh the realisation of young ones… I love to see their hatred pouring out at their elders when it is they who should be taking the blame! Enough chat, we have talked far too long. _Thrysta!" _

Aris and Elena were thrown backwards several scores of yards down the street into the snow coated ground. Hagnar then uttered something else and the youths slowly felt the vitality being drained out of them; the elder man walked over and leaned over Elena and Aris who lay in the snow next to each other – paralysed by the lack of energy that their bodies had to function.

"This spell was taught to me by one of your closest friend Aris. I shan't say whom but he was keen when I first enquired about it to inform me of its uses; I thought you may want to know that it will drain all of the vitality until, slowly, your body temperature will drop and you will die. I wish you a good death Aris, Elena. May it be a sweet one."

With that he walked off, leaving the pair lying in the snow. Heleth came flying over now leaning over the two of them.

_Elena! Wake up! ELENA!_

"You!" Hagnar shouted. "Pesky dragons, _Reisa, letta!" _Heleth became frozen in mid-air, held by an invisible force. She struggled for a few seconds before giving up and submitting to the power of the spell.

Next to his prone form Aris heard Elena sobbing; he was losing consciousness now from the freezing temperatures and his body's difficulty to maintain his own. He sensed the same was happening to Elena right next to him. Knowing that he was going to die to the one whom he hated most Aris resigned to that fact and so, struggling to form words in his mouth to form a single syllable, he whispered to Elena – who was looking into his eyes now – one single thing.

"I'm sorry."

And they passed into the void…

Author's note: :/ it's hardly looking good for either of them to be honest! What with them basically being dead and all… I suppose you'll just have to wait till next week to find out what happens.

As for Guild Wars 2 it's going very well; however, my computer is pretty shoddy so it doesn't run very fast but once I can get on a better computer I'll go on more. If anyone likes MMOs and has played WoW you'll love GW2 :D

That's all for now. Again, thank you for reading, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter shall be out soon.


	24. Mourning

Chapter twenty three – Mourning

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

_My whole life… A lie… _Aris thought to himself as he lay unconscious in some unknown place. All he knew now that he was in a deep sleep, one that even death would find shocking.

_Is this what death feels like? I thought we went to somewhere above the clouds to reside with the gods in their halls for eternity; I suppose that was just another myth, something to give people meaning in life… Nothing seems to retain the laws of reality anymore. Poor Arelía, she's going to go crazy without her rider..._

The dark haired youth returned to sleep for an unknown amount of time then, all he could feel was the empty vastness of the void…

He was woken by a cacophony of voices shouting and muttering things around his head; lots of little things that cumulated in a massive noise which was driving him to insanity.

_I wish they would just shut up! _He bellowed mentally.

No one answered.

_No Arelía… No one to save me now. Hagnar is probably still there, gloating his victory over mine and Elena's dead bodies…_

_But if you can still hear and think then surely you are alive young one? _A deep voice rumbled through Aris' mind.

_Wait! Are you Balthazaar?_

_Who is Balthazaar? _The voice enquired.

_He's the god of death. _Aris retorted.

_Pah, a god? I do not believe in such things for I am greater than a god._

_Glaedr?!_

_Not Glaedr no, but I do know him and grieve for him. My name is Umaroth, dragon of the rider Vrael who passed from this world many a century ago._

_Vrael? I remember that name! He was the leader of the dragon riders!_

_That is so young one, a good man he was too. Until he was overthrown by Galbatorix, the traitor, and killed on the spot; my rider showed him mercy! But alas, his reign was not to be. The traitor was killed by none other than your good friend Eragon._

_Eragon… I never knew…_

_Indeed. But we have exchanged tales for far too long as our current events are far more important; we should really get down to the business of what has happened as I am sure you are curious as to why you haven't exploded into millions of pieces._

_I am wondering why that is the case, yes._

_It's because… Well… It isn't hard to explain. You're not technically dead._

_I'm alive! Oh thank Dwayna! I've been spared! Oh…. Arelía, Elena! They're going to be so worried!_

_About that… _Umaroth said, worry in his voice.

… _Has something happened to them?!_

_Yes Aris. Something rather grave; they have been waiting for you, waiting far too long for you to wake up. Now go to them and greet them once more as a mortal. I shall speak to you again soon young one but only once the time comes when you are again in great danger and you seek the power to overthrow the one who threatens all of our lives, not just yours. Farewell…_

Before Aris could ask any questions as to what was going on he slowly felt himself waking up, eyes opening and staring out at what looked to be a wooden wall carved out of bark.

_This place seems familiar… _He thought.

"Eugh… Where am I?" He asked aloud, not expecting an answer.

"Aris!"

_Aris!_

"Ow… My head…"

"Oh sorry… Did Arelía contact you at the same time?" The voice from above asked.

The curiosity was too great now, Aris wanted to find out who it was that was speaking to him. Cracking open his tired eyes fully he now looked out on the strangest scene ever.

A huge group of people was gathered around his bed in his small room back at sanctuary; people from Elena to Eragon and even Arelía, who had her head sticking through the window, were there watching in amazement as Aris woke up.

"Aris!"

He found out that it had been Elena talking to him.

"Hey Elena. Umm where am I?"

Aris received a huge slap across the face, "What was that for?!" He protested.

"For making me think I'd lost you." And then she did the most unorthodox thing ever.

She kissed him.

There were some wolf-whistles from the human riders behind Elena but Aris didn't care, he closed his eyes and embraced this moment of love which he thought he would never be part of again.

Once they had finished Aris leaned back in his bed, resting his head on the pillow, "That was nice…"

"And that's for saying sorry." Elena replied, grinning widely.

_Why can't I kiss you little one? _Arelía projected to everyone in the room, causing them to laugh.

_Because that wouldn't be safe would it? You'd end up eating me._

_Probably… Oh well, at least I don't think that when someone hugs me they're trying to crush me, hehe._

_Arelía…_

_I'm just having fun. _She retorted. Everyone was laughing even more now, especially Eragon and Elena.

"It is good to have you back Aris; we thought that we had lost you…" Eragon continued, "I shan't be sending anyone else to there again I think. There are some graver matters but those can be discussed at a later time; for now I think we should leave Elena, Aris and Arelía to have some time to themselves okay?"

There were some begrudging sighs and moans but everyone began to slowly filter out of the room leaving Arelía's head and Elena with Aris in the enclosed space.

"We're all alone now I guess." Aris said as the door slammed shut.

"All alone, no one to disturb us am I correct?" Elena suggested slyly.

"That is so; what were you… Planning?" Aris replied just as suggestively.

"You'll see…" She reached down underneath the bed and pulled a small package out.

"What's that?" Elena put a finger to Aris' lips and put the package on his chest which was under the bed-sheets. The wrapped up item was thing and rectangular in shape, but Aris couldn't guess what it was…

"Open it, go on."

Slowly Aris unwrapped the package to find a flat slate stone, that wasn't the strange part though; the peculiar thing was that it was coated in ink which formed an image of two people standing next to each other in a forested background. They stood hand in hand and were smiling towards Aris lying there in his bed. The female in the picture, who had brown hair and stood on the left, was incredibly attractive and the male who stood next to her had dark hair with deep, inquisitive eyes.

_I think I know what this is…_

Aris heard Arelía laugh slightly.

"Elena is this, me and you?"

"Yes; it's a fairth. A representation of the mind's eyes encrypted onto a stone tablet. I thought you may… Appreciate it as a gift."

"A gift for what?"

"Not giving up." And they kissed again.

The two of them remained together in Aris' room for the remainder of the day; however, dusk had almost been upon them when Aris had woken so that they only had an hour or so before Elena had to retire to her own room and meet up with some people.

Once she had left, giving him a farewell hug on the way out, Aris settled himself down in his bed and closed his eyes.

_You are fortunate Aris. _Arelía said out of the blue.

_That I am still alive? I know, but it has all happened now and I am here which is the most important thing._

_Indeed, but be more careful in the future. I can't lose you Aris as you can't lose me… Promethia is still recovering from-_

Aris cut off his dragon mid-sentence, _I know Arelía but now is a time for happy thoughts not for ones of mourning. We should respect the dead and let them have their peace._

_Aris… Those are the wisest words you've ever spoken._

_I doubt that I'm wise at all Arelía; I've just experienced life and death which gives me the knowledge to say such things._

Silence reigned for several minutes over the pair as both of them were unsure what to say or do; Aris tried to sleep but couldn't, the revelations of the hour or two he had been awake for were too much to handle at the moment.

_Before I forget Aris I wanted to say something, something… Important. Arelía said._

_What is it? _Aris enquired.

_It's a song._

_Oh no… Please no…_

_Aris and Elena sittin' in a tree-_

Author's note: :o so they did survive! Unless this is all a dream… Wait, that means I could be dreaming and I never wrote fan fiction! That would be terrible! I've gotten myself all worried now… Sorry about leaving the last chapter on a cliff hanger but I've written this chapter just to sate your reading thirsts so I hope you enjoy. As soon as I got up I read the reviews for the last chapter and decided that I would write a chapter as soon as I got on my computer, which was at 8.00am. It's now 9.00am and I'm finished :3 most people wouldn't even be up by now :p But that's beside the point. I really do hope you enjoyed the chapter and I have a proposal…

Distant truths is a fic which I truly do enjoy writing and I hope everyone enjoys reading. But it has come to a point now where I am unsure what to do; whether to continue with Aris' training and other adventures.

Another idea of mine was to write in a part two of distant truths under the same fic name although I'm unsure that this would work.

The final proposal is that I start an entirely new fic, called Darkness in the East, which is a continuation of Distant truths where Aris and Arelía, as the title suggests, venture to the east in search of the cities which have been mentioned so many times. But I'll leave it up to you to decide! If you could throw me a PM or write it in the reviews which one you want I'll take them into account in writing my next chapters in the story.

Thanks for reading, don't forget to rate and review and the next chapter, in whatever format we choose, shall be out soon!


	25. Requiem

Epilogue – Requiem

Disclaimer – I do not own or am affiliated with the Inheritance Cycle in any way nor do I own any of the characters. They belong to Christopher Paolini.

Author's note: yes I know I'm putting the author's note here but it is for a literature reason.

I just want to say a huge thanks to everyone who has supported me throughout the fic and who have reviewed, favourited and even viewed distant truths and for all the advice that has been given. I've decided that I'm going to take a month or twos break from writing for the moment but after that I may, not certainly but most likely, may write a sequel which will be bigger and better (I know that's really clichéd to say that but that's what I aim for :p) than this as this fic was a bit short. Anyway, this symbolises the end of Aris' first adventure but thanks for reading again and the next part of distant truths – darkness in the east – shall be out in a few months.

The procession continued marching forwards bearing the marker through the deep forest up the winding path to the top of the mountain. It was custom for deceased riders, who were either killed in battle or by a fatal disease, to be buried here in the human fashion – at the heights of the world so they were close to the gods. The standard which Aris and Elrohir carried bore the crest of Finwë's house to show his loyalty to it, even in death.

Elrohir smiled grimly at Aris who stood across from his, the dark haired youth returned the gesture, understanding the elf's grievance.

_He's known him for far longer than me; Elrohir deserved to be at his side in death but there was no one, only Hagnar to bring about his demise…_

_Little one… I know you loved Finwë as a friend and tutor. If he hadn't saved you we would never have become rider and dragon so I have him to thank for that; it is a shame we never got to speak much to him._

_Aye, I agree. We neglected him too much; I let myself get caught up in my training which shouldn't have happened. Oh well… He is in the hands of the gods now._

_Indeed; let us hope they treat him well as they should for he died a hero's death._

The group, clad in dark clothes and robes to show that they were in mourning, continued walking up the rough mountain path until they reached the summit – the graveyard.

Across the valley the dragon's roost could be seen, many of the beasts flying around and even over the valley to witness the death of a rider – which was no common occurrence even though many dragon riders risked their lives on a regular basis. One dragon in particular stood out from the rest, a light blue scaled being which was slightly larger than most of the younger dragons – Promethia, still wearing her saddle, was flying towards them to witness the commemoration to her rider.

As she flew Aris thought of how, several months ago, he had returned to find himself in his bed with all of the significant figures from the sanctuary gathered around his bedside, including the two most important people Arelía and Elena. The reason that Finwë was only to be 'buried' now was due to the fact that it had taken so long to organise such things for a burial was a big event for riders and elves alike.

Several weeks had been dedicated for Aris to simply recuperating from near death; Hagnar had drained nearly all the vitality out of him and he was incredibly lucky to have survived. He should have either been dead or a blabbering wreck but some higher power had decided to save him… After Arelía had recounted the tale of what had happened after he collapsed several times – as Aris had always been keen to hear of it – to her rider, each time both of them learning something new. Simply Promethia had come hurtling down through the cloud and proceeding to attack Hagnar, scaring him but not wounding him as he was far too powerful. The next part was Arelía's favourite; she had followed up Promethia in assaulting Hagnar and, much to the silver scaled dragon's amazement, she had breathed fire, yes fire! At Hagnar startling him as he did not know that she could do that. He was certain to be wounded mentally for a long time and was of no threat to the riders, for now at least.

Once the small group was gathered the last rites began; the human ones had been adapted by the elves to fit their customs. Eragon took his role as head rider and conducted the ceremony reciting the paragraphs with a sense of finality, symbolising the end of one man's story but the beginning of a new one.

Eragon spoke for a score of minutes before the last syllable had been uttered; only then did he motion for Aris and Elrohir to place the banner in the ground near many others which were scatted about the graveyard. They lowered the pole into the specifically prepared hole before pushing up the dirt around it with magic to secure the banner in place. The emblem rippled lightly in the wind…

Aris retreated and stood next to Elena, Arelía and Heleth. "I never did like endings." He said bitterly; Heleth released a mournful keen.

"Nor does anyone. It is a grave day when a dragon rider, especially one whom we knew and respected, passes into the void but all we can do now is remember his name in pride."

Promethia landed and sniffed at the flag post which represented what her rider had once been. She too joined Heleth in releasing a mournful tone into the air creating an air of depression over the hilltop. After a minute they both stopped and the light blue scaled dragon flew back to the roost to be alone for a while, as Aris understood that dragons needed some time to adapt to being without their beloved rider.

Striding forward to the edge of the mountain there was a large precipice below him, allowing a magnificent view out over the surrounding valleys of the rider's domain. He marvelled at the magnificent natural sight and how it could have been created by the forces of nature, not of a sentient being. Staring to the east he thought he could see plains although he could not be sure; from there all that could be seen was darkness.

Elena walked next to her new-found partner and held his hand lightly, "A magnificent view is it not?"

Aris replied, "Indeed it is; but there lies darkness lies in the east, one that must be uncovered."

THE END

Or is it?


	26. Update

Chapter X – Update?!

Disclaimer – I am not owned or affiliated with myself, I belong to myself industries and no one else.

Just a notice to say I'm back! *back in back by AC/DC plays in the background* Yes. And that means sequel time! So if you didn't know I am writing a sequel to my first fic, distant truths. So check that out either by going to my profile page or from the inheritance cycle fics page. Hope you enjoy **darkness in the east**!


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